Honorees

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Year Honored
1996
Honoree
Janice D Nowacki-Tobin
Agency
Midwest Medflight
Agency City
Ypsilanti
Agency State
MI
Last Call
12/1/94
Cause of Death
Medical Aviation Accident
Biography
The neighborhood nurse who always helped during medical emergencies was the way neighbors remember Janice. She was always willing to help in anyway she could, from bandaging a cut to caring for a child with cancer in the middle of the night.<br /> <br /> Janice had been on St. Joseph's flight staff since 1986 and had worked for the hospital since 1983.<br /> <br /> The excitement of using her nursing skills on an air ambulance combined with her love of nursing made Janice a caring and compassionate flight nurse who was proud of the work she did.<br /> <br /> On December 1, 1994 Janice and the crew of Midwest MedFlight were en route to transport a critical cardiac patient to St. Joseph. Shortly after takeoff, the helicopter suddenly fell to earth. Janice, who was 43, and the other two members of the crew died in the crash.<br /> <br /> Before the accident, smoke was seeping from the helicopter's tail, the landing gear was down,and its four rotors were turning slower than usual. The helicopter had previous maintenance problems but no accidents, and was the backup used because the regular helicopter was being serviced.<br /> <br /> The summer before her death Janice had married paramedic Mike Tobin. She was also the mother of an adult son and daughter.<br /> <br /> Honored 1996