SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., – Peter Meyer, MD, Medical Director of Air Link at Regional West has been named the 2011 Medical Director of the Year by the Air Medical Physician Association. The announcement was made October 16 at the Air Medical Transport Conference held at St. Louis, Mo.

The Air Medical Director of the Year award is presented annually to a physician who has made outstanding contributions to his or her air medical transport program.

Dr. Meyer was nominated by a team of 14 people including Regional West’s president, Todd Sorensen, MD, the Medical Center’s executive staff, and several flight team members, who cited his “total commitment” to the Air Link Program as “extraordinary.”

The nomination included a long list of attributes that make Dr. Meyer an outstanding medical director. They include: “Dr. Meyer flies as an active member of our medical crew to ensure the care we provide is top quality and to have a better understanding of the unique challenges faced by the air medical crew. He picks up shifts to ensure other staff members have time off when they need it. He never asks staff to do something he wouldn’t do himself, e.g., he voluntarily completed the same orientation process required for new staff members. He coordinates and regularly participates in hands-on and classroom educational opportunities. He helped organize and host a local Transport Nurse Advanced Trauma Course. He is personally known by regional EMS squads and hospitals because he makes the time to meet and get to know them.”

“Of course, we think Dr. Meyer is a terrific choice for this recognition. He is, first, an excellent emergency physician, but he has also been a great role model for emergency medicine residents and staff, and has been Air Link’s guiding light for the last six years. We are very happy that others see him in the same positive way,” said Todd S. Sorensen, MD, MS, President and CEO of Regional West Health Services.

The International Medical Director of the Year award was presented by the Air Medical Physician Association (AMPA), which is the largest professional organization of physicians dedicated to rotor wing (helicopter), fixed wing (airplane) and critical care ground transport. The 400-member association represents extensive expertise in the field of medical transport including Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and various Surgical Subspecialties.

Dr. Meyer has been an Emergency Department physician at Regional West since 1996. He helped to initiate and served several years as the director of the Medical Center’s Emergency Medicine Residency program through the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He has served as Air Link Medical Director for the past six years.

A native of Minden, Nebr., Dr. Meyer earned his medical degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and completed a residency in Family Medicine at Self Memorial Hospital, Greenwood, SC. He and his wife Tracy, who is Air Link’s Chief Flight Nurse, have five children: Spencer 25, Logan 22, Dawson 9, Carter 5, and Campbell 3. Dr. Meyer is active in community organizations, including United Way, and regional and state Emergency Medical Services organizations.

Regional West Health Services is the parent company for Regional West Medical Center and Regional West Physicians Clinic. These organizations, with over 1,800 employees, provide comprehensive and innovative health care services for the people and communities of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. With over 110 active physicians, 95 percent of whom are board certified or board eligible, plus an additional 25 consulting specialists, the Regional West family of health care organizations offers care that spans more than 30 medical specialties.