About Our Team

The PennSTAR team is comprised of many individuals working together to ensure every flight and transport is safe and timely. PennSTAR employees EMS Manager access

Our staff includes:

• Pilots: All pilots have a minimum of 2000 hours as pilot-in-command (PIC). All maintain commercial pilot ratings and are specially trained in the EMS flight environment and well as night vision goggle (NVG) trained and equipped. Pilots are also trained in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) as rules and regulations established by the FAA to govern flight under conditions in which flight by outside visual reference is not safe.
• Flight Nurses & Paramedics: All are seasoned and experienced clinicians with a minimum of two years of full-time critical care and emergency medicine experienced. In addition to their PA and NJ state licenses/certification, all are certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support , Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Advanced Trauma Life Support, and CPR and must maintain a national specialty certification within their respective disciplines.
• Communication Technicians: All patient and non-patient activities are carefully monitored continuously by our dedicated onsite, CFC certified Communication Technicians. Their primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of both our crews and patients. Exact vehicle locations are tracked in real-time, and they can provide immediate logistical and clinical support / consultation to our crews to insure a safe flight.
• PennSTAR medical command physicians are Penn credentialed physicians who are experienced with flight operations and represent various critical care specialties including anesthesia, emergency medicine, hyperbaric medicine, internal medicine and pulmonary critical care. They can provide medical assistance and information to sending facilities and provide a resource to our clinicians during the transport environment.

PennSTAR Medical Command Physicians

• C. William Schwab, MD
  Physician in Chief
• Edward Dickinson, MD
  Medical Director
• Michael Beers, MD
• C. William Hanson III, MD
• Stefanie Porges, MD
• David Gaieski, MD
• David Lambert, MD

PennSTAR Administration

• Robert Higgins
  Program Director
  bob.higgins@uphs.upenn.edu
• Kevin Thomas
  Medical Crew Coordinator, PennSTAR 1-2-6-Ground
  kevin.thomas@uphs.upenn.edu
• Duke Lindsay
  Medical Crew Coordinator, PennSTAR 3-4-5
  duke.lindsay@uphs.upenn.edu
• Thomas Levins
  Clinical Coordinator
  tom.levins@uphs.upenn.edu
• Joanne Shuttleworth
  Transportation and Referral Coordinator
  joanne.shuttleworth@uphs.upenn.edu
• Wendell May
  Aviation Manager (Metro Aviation)
  wmay@metroaviation.com

Contact PennSTAR

• For all billing inquiries, please call our Medical Billing Services line at 800-347-0881.
• For all administrative inquiries, please contact Debra Culver, staff assistant, at debra.culver@uphs.upenn.edu or 215-349-8510.
• To request a PennSTAR Flight or Ground Standby at your event, email Kevin Thomas at kevin.thomas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
• Interested in joining our team? Go to our Careers at Penn Medicine and search keyword 'PennSTAR' for open positions.

PennSTAR Mailing Address

PennSTAR
3400 Spruce Street
HUP, Ravdin Building, 10th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19104