Joan Sullivan Garrett

Joan Sullivan Garrett (born August 2, 1949) is a former critical care flight nurse, telemedicine pioneer, and American business executive who founded MedAire, Inc. in 1985 and its service arm, MedLink, in 1987. She served as MedAire CEO until 2008 and today is chairman. MedLink is credited with offering the first global in-flight medical assistance program, sometimes referred to as the "911 of the sky".

Early life and education
Joan Sullivan Garrett was born in San Francisco, California on August 2, 1949, into a family of nurses. She attended Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona, where she earned an associate degree and her license as a registered nurse in her early thirties. As a single mother of two young sons, she gained critical care experience and certified in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) and pediatric advanced life support (PALS).

Flight nursing career
Sullivan Garrett became a flight nurse with Air Evac, an air ambulance company at Banner Health, a trauma center then known as Samaritan Hospital System in Phoenix, Arizona, served as Director of Flight Personnel, and founded a paramedic training program.

In 1983, she implanted a transthoracic pacemaker during an emergency call. The elderly patient was transported to a trauma center in Phoenix, Arizona and survived another 11 years.

In 1984 during a rescue and evacuation mission, Sullivan Garrett was unable to save an eight-year-old patient who was involved in a rollover accident in the San Tan Mountains of Arizona. Emergency medical technicians at the scene initially cancelled the Air Evac helicopter dispatch within five minutes of landing, and later called Sullivan Garrett's team back to the accident site. Due to the severity of injuries and the time elapsed during transport to a level 1 trauma center, the young patient did not survive.

The boy's death inspired Sullivan Garrett, whose sons were around the same age, to find a way to improve the outcomes of remote medical emergencies. In 1985, she launched her startup, MedAire.

Founder, CEO, and Chairman of MedAire
As MedAire's founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Sullivan Garrett first provided a new and improved version of medical kits to the aviation and maritime industries. She responded to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1985 with a design for a proper medical kit and trained crews in first aid response. In 1987, she pioneered the world's first global remote emergency response center, MedLink, the service arm of MedAire. The technology available in the 1980s was limited to high frequency radio, satellite, or teletype messaging that could connect land-based emergency physicians to remote operators wherever in the world they might be in the sky or at sea.

In 1997, Sullivan Garrett testified before Congress regarding the need for enhanced emergency medical kits aboard U.S. airlines. In 2001, she testified before Congress to urge the mandate of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) aboard U.S. airlines. Subsequently, the Federal Aviation Administration's final ruling required this equipment on all domestic and international flights. Her global response initiatives provided medical assistance during the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis in Phuket, Thailand and the coastal regions of Asia in 2004. MedAire received the American Telemedicine Association's Innovation Award during the Association's annual meeting, held in Tampa, Florida, also in 2004.

Sullivan Garrett stepped down as MedAire CEO in 2008 after the company was acquired by International SOS, and now serves as MedAire chairman, industry consultant, and speaker. She consults with government agencies such as the FAA and has written numerous white papers as an expert on inflight safety and remote medical response. She has been interviewed extensively by news media.

Awards
Sullivan Garrett was recognized during Women's History Month in May 2021 by the National Aviation Hall of Fame and Boom Technology as one of six barrier-breaking women in aviation, including Bessie Coleman, Harriet Quimby, Louise Thaden, Jacqueline Cochran, and Patty Wagstaff.
 * 2020 - inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame
 * 2019 - inducted into International Air & Space Hall of Fame
 * 2017 - NBAA Meritorious Service to Aviation Award
 * 2017 - International Aviation Women's Association Woman of Excellence Award
 * 2017 - inducted into the Hall of Fame at Mesa Community College
 * 2005 - Arizona State University Spirit of Enterprise Award
 * 2001 - Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award
 * 1997 - Flight Safety Foundation Business Aviation Meritorious Service Award