LifeLine leader helps keep the crews running and customers satisfied

His shift includes everything from answering calls to making sure the equipment is running. Kevin Bedwell is one of several shift supervisors for IU Health LifeLine.

By IU Health Senior Journalist, T.J. Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

When he talks there’s a word that Kevin Bedwell uses often. That word is “we.” He talks about his job with IU Health LifeLine as a group; a crew.

“What I like most about my position is the people - the interactions with our patients and our customers, along with awesome strong clinicians I work with everyday. Our job is very much a team sport. Everyone has their role,” said Bedwell.

A native of the city’s south side, Bedwell started his career as a firefighter cadet at the age of 16. After high school he continued the path to firefighting until a friend introduced him to the emergency Riley transport team. By 2005 the team merged with LifeLine and Bedwell was one of the crewmembers.

“I always wanted to be a firefighter. I’ve always wanted to take care of people,” said Bedwell. In 2003 his career was interrupted when he was diagnosed with a type of non-smokers lung cancer. He had surgery and was off work for a year recovering.

“It was hard and I’m grateful that I had good leadership that helped me get through that tough time,” said Bedwell. “It really showed me that I want to give our patients the same care that was given to me.”

Now Bedwell is one of eight supervisors working behind the scenes of LifeLine overseeing every aspect of a 12-hour shift. From LifeLine’s Gasoline Alley location, Bedwell monitors the comings and goings of about 100 people on 30 teams across the state.

“It’s difficult to call any day a ‘typical day’ especially since COVID started,” said Bedwell. “The pandemic changed our roles immensely. For every patient we developed a system to safeguard both the patient and our crewmembers, taking the proper precautions to protect everyone. The volume of transports alone increased our workload twofold,” said Bedwell. “Of course no one in healthcare saw this coming but I can’t express enough how happy I am in the way that our team and IU Health has handled it.”

Most days he begins by checking the running load and volume of calls. Afternoons and early evenings are the busiest times. His focus is making sure his crew is on the streets – that may mean troubleshooting equipment issues, personnel issues, or customer service issues. On the busiest days the team may field anywhere from 60 to 100 calls per a shift. Some of his time is spent at headquarters and some of it is spent assisting with runs in the field.

“It’s definitely busy. I like both aspects of the job – being out on a run and also being in the office answering calls,” said Bedwell. “I really like to deal with problem solving.”

Personally, Bedwell is married to his wife Mandy, a scientific researcher with IU School of Medicine. They have two dogs and will celebrate their fourth anniversary this month traveling around Italy.