By Justin Vellucci
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Copyright 2007 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
PITTSBURGH — Officials from STAT MedEvac, the region’s largest air-ambulance service, were not answering questions Friday about the departure of the man who has headed the service since 1992.
James Bothwell went on a paid leave of absence Thursday, spokesman John Chamberlin said. Douglas A. Garretson, the group’s vice president, took over Bothwell’s duties and was named interim president and CEO.
Chamberlin would not say why Bothwell left or who decided he should go. He said he did not know Bothwell’s salary and declined to further discuss the leave of absence.
“The rest of it’s a personnel issue, so I can’t tell you any more,” Chamberlin said.
Bothwell — who made a base salary of $244,620 in 2004, tax records show — could not be reached for comment.
The nonprofit STAT MedEvac, launched 20 years ago, includes 19 aircraft -- about a half-dozen serve the Pittsburgh region -- and more than 280 personnel, according to its Web site.
The group, a service of the Center for Emergency Medicine, is run by a consortium of hospitals, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, West Penn Hospital and Altoona Hospital.
A spokeswoman for UPMC, which leads the STAT MedEvac program, did not return a phone call yesterday seeking comment.
Bothwell joined STAT MedEvac in 1992, after serving as MedEvac coordinator for the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. He started his career as an emergency responder in 1982 as a paramedic in Alexandria, Va., according to STAT MedEvac’s Web site.