Helping Patients and Families Lifts Wisc. MedLink Nurse Past 2,000 Flight Milestone

Aug. 03--After more than 2,000 helicopter flights to transport patients -- many of them lifesaving ventures, some less successful -- critical care nurse Julie Gollnick remains concerned about that pesky helmet hair.

At least that's one of the teasing remarks flight paramedic Tom Carpenter tossed her way Friday in the hangar at Gundersen MedLink AIR in the banter that crew members exchange in part to relieve the stress of life-and-death trauma flights -- often in tough conditions.

On the serious side, Carpenter said, "One of her best qualities is her compassion for patients and families. After flights, she has a way of making families feel good and secure.

"I've learned a lot of things like that from her -- that parts of health care are way more important than skills," said Carpenter, adding that, in effect, they grew up together in the EMS field.

After working together for Tri-State Ambulance -- the predecessor to Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance -- Gollnick and Carpenter were among the first crew members of MedLink AIR when it lifted off in 1992.

Today, they and pilot Dale Dougherty are the only MedLink originals remaining.

Gollnick, of Onalaska, resisted the notion of any publicity about her achievement but colleagues left her no parachute as they shoved her out of the chopper and into the limelight. More successful at dodging notoriety was Dougherty, who recently passed a milestone of his own, with 3,400 patient flights.

Dougherty insisted that Gollnick's log -- 2,003 flights as of Friday afternoon, which is nearly 600 more than the next-closest crew member -- made this "Julie's time."

Although it's impossible to compute Gollnick's air miles, MedLink flights average 70 miles round trip, so her total easily could be more than 14,000 miles. MedLink teams transport critically injured and ill patients to Gundersen Health System or other facilities within a 150-mile radius of La Crosse and are on track to compile 500 transports this year.

Gollnick acknowledged with a laugh that her tally is the result of being around so long, although she good-naturedly but stubbornly refused to reveal her age.

"I'm still enjoying it, and I'll keep doing it as long as I can," she said, even though many of the trauma calls are physically demanding, struggling with equipment in terrible terrain.

Asked how she handles the stress, she said, "I don't know. It's going to see families and patients, and teasing with co-workers."

Are any flights more memorable or more difficult than others? "Kids are always hard, especially if it's a very bad one," said the mother of two.

"People ask what is memorable, but they all are memorable in their own way," Gollnick said. "You can't always fix the patients, but you can help the families."

Building relationships with patients and families "really drives me," she said. "If the result didn't come out right, you can help them through their loss."

She recalled one patient so severely injured that the organ-donation decision was near, but he rebounded and survived.

"When it was time to release him, they called me so I could walk out with him" for his transfer to a rehabilitation center closer to home, she said. "Walking out with him -- that was awesome."

Less severe cases allow a lighter approach, Carpenter and Gollnick said.

"We can bash each other to help the patient laugh," Carpenter said.

"I tell them not to worry about the pilot -- it's his first time," Gollnick said. "When you can make patients laugh, they are a little calmer."

Although Dougherty refused to come out of the shadows, Gollnick strong-armed him into appearing with her in a photo in Gundersen's Bridges, an employee newsletter.

"He's an awesome pilot, a phenomenal pilot -- very intuitive," she said.

Carpenter underscored the comment, saying, "He probably knows more about our medical protocols than we do. He pays attention, so he knows what we're doing and what we need."

Gollnick's accomplishment received plenty of attention on MedLink's Facebook page, with comments ranging from simple congratulations to emotional accolades.

"Comments made me cry -- some were so nice," she said. "They were awesome."

Among them:

• "Congratulations, Julie I am honored to know you, have worked with you, have learned from you, and to be your friend. You have saved so many lives. The Coulee Region is blessed to have you."
• "Way to pave the road (or sky?) for all flight RNs by being a great role model! Congrats, Julie!"
• "You are always a patient/family advocate and I have learned so much from you! Before I was a mom you opened my eyes to why you sat and held that child years ago. Congratulations. You have touched many lives...patients, families, and coworkers!"

MedLink crews once had a tradition that members had to pop for pizza every 100 flights. Although the practice has been generally abandoned, Gollnick said she will resurrect it for one number.

"I never gave it a thought" about passing 2,000, she said. "I was shocked when I saw that I was at 1,993.

"Now that I'm here, though, my goal is 2,015 in 2015. I will buy pizza on 2,015," she said. "Then we'll have a party."

Copyright 2015 - La Crosse Tribune, Wis.