Flight Nurse Remembered As Hero To Many

TUPELO (WCBI) The crash of a medical helicopter is being felt in North Mississippi and Northwest Alabama because one of the victims is a long time member of the medical and emergency responder efforts in the region.

SPRUIELL

Jim Spruiell of Sulligent, Alabama was one of the three flight crew members killed Sunday night. Spruiell was the chief flight nurse for the North Mississippi Medical Center CareFlight services He was a familiar face across the area because that role included training law enforcement and local fire departments and first responders how to secure landing zones and prepare patients for trauma flights. Spruiells career with NMMC started in 1992 as a paramedic in Baldwyn before he shifted into the aeromedical section in 1994 and became a flight nurse in 2001.    Spruiell also worked in various ER and ambulance services across the area as a relief paramedic while others were out. The Sulligent resident received his paramedic certificate from the University of Alabama and an associates degree in nursing from ICC .He leaves behind a wife and four children. WCBI will have more on the life and career of Jim Spruiell later today.