Patricia “Tricia” Margarido, a 2019 graduate of UConn’s Executive MBA program, leads a critical care team that takes care of patients in the most desperate, dire, and frightening moments of their lives.

She and her colleagues at Hartford Hospital’s LIFE STAR program treat patients 1,500 feet in the air, in the tight confines of a moving helicopter, assisted by equipment with the technological capacity found in an ICU. Their workspace is 11-by-5 feet, and their missions often take place in the darkness of night.

“There are many difficult days in this line of work. But when we’re able to help save the life of a patient in crisis, this is the best job imaginable,” says Margarido, who is the co-director of the LIFE STAR program with emergency medicine physician Dr. Lauri Bolton, and partners with Nurse Director Heather Standish. “We all have an inner drive, a love of our job, and an unrelenting desire to help others.”

The three-member team includes a nurse, a respiratory therapist or paramedic, and a pilot. On board, they have more than 50 different medications, blood products, ultrasound technology, a ventilator, a cardiac monitor, and IV infusions. The team is supported on the ground by aviation mechanics, communication specialists, and administrative professionals.

“The short time that we’re together in the helicopter is very, very intense,” Margarido says. “Most of the time we’re working without talking. We can anticipate each other’s needs.”

LIFE STAR is staffed 24 hours a day, can transport patients who have suffered heart attacks, strokes, burns, and other traumatic injuries and illnesses, and is prepared to care for everyone from infants to the elderly. The program operates three helicopters, based in Meriden and Norwich, and Westfield, Massachusetts.

Margarido recently spoke with the UConn School of Business about her job, the approximately 1,500 missions she has flown, and how her UConn Executive MBA degree helped her to become a stronger and more confident leader. Following are excerpts of the conversation.

What are the most difficult missions?

The toughest calls are definitely those that involve children or teens. When you see the families of the injured, it is devastating. It is also hard to see people injured at work, like at a construction site or those who are injured traveling to work.

But those calls are often also the most rewarding. Years ago, we had a child who had an intracranial head bleed and was unresponsive. We helped treat her and get her to the hospital and directly into surgery. She went home with no lingering injuries, with no functional deficits. If the whole system was not in place to care for her, the outcome could have been devastating.

Why did you pursue this career? And is there, in your experience, a certain type of person drawn to this work?

I come from a family of health care professionals. I have a sister and a brother who are nurses, and another sister is a physical therapist. While I was completing my bachelor’s degree at Boston College, I was working as a respiratory care practitioner at Tufts Medical Center. I met the LIFE STAR representatives at a respiratory care conference. I wasn’t looking to change jobs at the time, but the opportunity was so unique that I couldn’t pass it up. I came to Hartford to complete an observation shift with the crew shortly after 9/11, and I was hooked.

I think this position appeals to someone who is very caring, someone who wants to help others, and someone who is very autonomous. I think the members of our team are very courageous because this job has risks that aren’t found in a traditional medical setting.

We are very safety-focused, consider all factors before flight, and make an alternative plan to transport the patient, if necessary. We have sophisticated equipment, including night-vision goggles, helmets with microphones, and advanced terrain-awareness tools.

We don’t know anything about the injury of a patient until we’re in the sky, so that the decision to fly is based purely on the weather and the team’s safety and not influenced by the emotions of a patient’s need.

You were very experienced in your career when you enrolled in the UConn Executive MBA program. Why did you pursue the degree? 

My background was as a medical professional. Business was totally foreign to me. I became a manager, and I needed to lead teams, understand budgets, and learn “the business language” that people were speaking.

After earning my EMBA at UConn, I was more confident. I developed a better understanding of finance, leadership styles, synergy. I learned business acumen. Now I’m confident pulling meetings together and leading well-prepared presentations. I feel like I’ve earned my seat at the table. The EMBA program has had a lasting impact on my career.

In the EMBA program, I enjoyed meeting a variety of leaders, people who worked in finance, tech, defense, and nonprofits. Those experiences were great. I also gained a global vantage point of the world during the EMBA trip to South Africa. Witnessing the depth of the poverty there was profound, and it left me thinking about how I could help at home. The trip will stay with me always.

 Has this job changed your perspective or the way you live your life? 

Yes, everyone on the LIFE STAR team agrees that you live differently, with a deeper appreciation for life, because of what we do. You see how everything can be gone in a moment.

How do you cope with the stress of your job?

We rely on each other for support. There is always someone here who you can talk to when things go badly. And when we’re off duty, we disconnect. For me, that’s family time, trips to the beach, and bike rides.

How has your role changed in recent years?

I rarely go out on emergency calls now. Instead, I do a great deal of training with fire departments and other first responders to teach them about LIFE STAR early activation, utilization, safety, and communication. Our partner emergency responders are key to our success by knowing when to call for help and how to identify a safe landing zone. We typically complete more than 1,200 patient flights a year, and our team also conducts about 200 emergency transports via ground transportation.

Are there any strange places you’ve landed?

Cornfields are particularly tricky, especially moving the stretcher over them. But we’ve landed on highways, in backyards, on mountaintops, in the woods, adjacent to a dam, and on several golf courses. Although we’re mainly in Connecticut and Massachusetts, we’ve flown over Fenway Park, over beaches on the Fourth of July, and to the Berkshires and Vermont. But when there is a patient on board, we are focused on providing patient care and always maintain situational awareness.

Do you have LIFE STAR groupies?

We do. We have some LIFE STAR enthusiasts who track our flights, photograph the helicopter when it lands or takes off, and occasionally call asking for merchandise, like LIFE STAR helicopter pins and key chains. We value them and their support, as we share a respect for emergency response. We also have a very impressive following on LIFE STAR’s Facebook page.

Are there other moments that stay etched in your mind? 

Some of our patients come back to thank the crew, and their comments are so heartfelt. Patients are grateful for the care they’ve received, and equally thankful for their health. For me, that’s the biggest reward for the hard work that we do.