ATVs, four-wheel-drive and chain saws aren’t typically associated with emergency medical response, but when someone is injured in a place that’s difficult to reach or is blocked off by fallen trees, first responders need a way to safely treat and transport the patient.
That’s where Adventure Medics comes in.
“All our vehicles have … all the road gear we need so that no matter what the call is, we’re going to take the patient,” said Kyle Marik, a paramedic and events manager for Adventure Medics’ Washington branch.
Based on a small property in Onalaska, Adventure Medics’ Washington branch opened in 2019 as an expansion of a company based in Bend, Oregon.
Adventure Medics’ founder, Matt Sabelman, started the company as a way to combine his love of an adventurous lifestyle with his passion for providing emergency medical service.
The director of operations for the Washington branch, Mike Johnson, joined Adventure Medics two years ago out of a desire to combine those same two passions after he finished his career as a flight paramedic.
“I had a lot of good choices to go to this next phase of my career. You know, you’ve got good equipment, a good mission and just want to help people,” Johnson said.
Adventure Medics partners with Lewis County Fire District 4 in Mossyrock and Arbor Health Hospital in Morton to provide ambulance service and inter-facility transfers, provides medical service to crews battling forest fires statewide and services potentially dangerous outdoor events.
“As we get into the summer season more, we cover medical for things like ultra marathons, motorcycle races, basically anything outside and dirty,” Marik said.
Going into its third year in Washington, Adventure Medics is seeking to increase its event status across the state.
“We cater toward events that typically just have standby tents that might not fully service everything that they need, sort of more in the outback, so we’re able to bring the care to patients and expand their level of health and safety,” Marik said.
Adventure Medics has the equipment to adapt to the level of care a situation requires — whether it’s providing near-hospital-level treatment in a medical trailer on site at an event or assisting another agency with their response to a car crash.
“Our goal is to treat people wherever we can,” Johnson said.
For more information about contracting Adventure Medics for an event, contact Johnson at michael.johnson@advmedics.com.
More information about Adventure Medics is available on the company’s website at https://www.advmedics.com/.
