Ben Hunt

Credentials:
WEMT

Ben Hunt is employed as a federal agent with the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the last 13 years.  He has been an EMT, primarily in support of law enforcement operations, since 1997.  He has handled emergencies in remote locations from the deserts of the American Southwest to transatlantic commercial flights.  He has been stationed in various locations across the country, and performed operations in a number of countries.  During Ben’s career, he has been a lead instructor for medical and firearms programs within DHS.  Ben is currently stationed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he patrols remote areas in defense of the nation’s borders.
When Ben is not hunting international bad guys, he is helping his wonderful and understanding wife raise their boys.  Living in the UP is giving Ben more time to take up the past times of his youth.  He has  returned to his Boy Scout roots.  Ben has taken a leadership position with the local Cub Scout Pack.  He’s not sure which is more dangerous, work or the cub scouts.

David Skujins

Credentials:

David Skujins currently works as a Operations Supervisor Paramedic for American Medical Response in Grand Rapids Michigan.  He has been employed with AMR for 14 years.  Dave also is the Tactical Medic Coordinator for the areas Tactical Medic program.  Here he serves with the local and federal law enforcement agencies and provides medical support for their tactical operations.  Dave is a Critical Care Paramedic and serves with the Disaster Response Team.

He began his career in the Navy serving 9 years on active duty.  There he worked as a Navy Deep Sea Diver.  Primarily working deep/heavy salvage, he was part of a operation in Roatan, Honduras salvaging the motor vessel "Wendy" which then was then the largest salvage operation in 25 years.  Dave also dove on the recovery of TWA Flight 800 off the coast of Long Island NY in 1996 where nearly 100% of the aircraft was brought to the surface.  After completing his Navy commitment and earning a honorable discharge, he worked as a Hyperbaric Technician at DuPaul Medical Center in Norfolk, Virginia.  There he used his technical knowledge in recompression chambers to work with patients ranging from wound care to carbon monoxide poisoning.  It is here where Dave earned his Paramedic License.  Family brought Dave to West Michigan where he began his career in AMR.  In November 2001 following the attacks in September, Dave joined the Navy Reserves.  Serving as a Navy Corpsman, he was part of Alpha Company in Grand Rapids.  Alpha Company is a Marine Infantry unit with much experience.  Dave was able to put his street experience to use in the field.  He served alongside the Marines for 3 years. 

Dave enjoys traveling, camping, and sharing experiences with his wife and 3 young children.

Jeffrey E. Isaac

Credentials:

PA-C

Jeffrey Isaac is an experienced emergency medical practitioner with a particular interest in wilderness and marine medicine. His thirty-year career has included clinical practice in hospital emergency departments and ski area trauma clinics as well as service with search and rescue teams, ski patrols, EMS, and as medical officer aboard sail training and research vessels. He is currently on staff with the Crested Butte Medical Center in Colorado providing emergency medical care and serving as medical control for the Crested Butte Professional Ski Patrol. He is also team leader and medical officer for Crested Butte Mountain Rescue and an ALS crew member with the Emergency Medical Services division of the CBFPD.

Mr. Isaac has been a lead instructor with Wilderness Medical Associates since 1981 and curriculum director for the company since 2004. He is the author of Wilderness and Rescue Medicine and The Outward Bound Wilderness First Aid Handbook used as WMA textbooks worldwide. He is a licensed captain and has served more than 20 seasons as an instructor, course director, and vessel master with the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School Maine Sea Program.

John M. Romspert

Credentials:

LT, WEMT-P, DMT

John Romspert was a Pararescueman for 13 years and is currently a Combat Rescue Officer. His first nine years were on active duty where he was stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, FL, Moody Air Force Base, GA, and Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Japan. As of January 2003 he has been assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, Alaska Air National Guard. John is a national registered paramedic, wilderness EMT, Dive medical technician, and Tactical EMT.

John is married to Rebecca Romspert and they have two daughters named Kasey and Reese, all of whom reside in Anchorage, AK.

Tim Webb

Credentials:

WEMT-P, CCEMT-P, WALS, FAWM

Tim Webb has been a Critical Care Paramedic with American Medical Response in Grand Rapids, Michigan for over 20 years.

Tim is a member of AMR's Special Response (SWAT/ HAZMAT) Team as well as the Disaster Response and USAR confined space medicine team. He served with the US Army as a Medic for 22 years including tours in Europe, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Tim is a Lead Instructor with Wilderness Medical Associates teaching all over the US to many different groups including all branches of the US Military. He also deployed recently to Afghanistan to teach medics of the famed 101st Airborne Division.

In 2011 Tim earned his Fellowship in Wilderness Medicine from the Wilderness Medical Society.

Tim has always been an avid outdoorsman with interests in mountaineering, kayaking, backpacking and adventure racing.

Brian Patten

Credentials:

WEMT-P I/C, PALS, WALS

Brian is the EMS training coordinator for Northern Cairn LLC. He is an adjunct faculty member at North Central Michigan College division of allied health and works as a Paramedic in Boyne City Michigan. He is married to the love of his life Charity and has a daughter Emma. Brian's experience and enthusiasm are validated in every class through student evaluations where he always receives high marks. As you can see, he likes to fish!

David Johnson

Wilderness Medical Associates, President & Medical Director

Credentials:

MD, WEMT

In addition to his writing, teaching, and business responsibilities with Wilderness Medical Associates, David (DJ) also works as an Emergency Physician at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine .

His outdoor pursuits have included wilderness canoeing in Canada, climbing and hiking in North and South America, coastal kayaking in the Georgia and Maine and blue water sailing around and across the Atlantic Ocean.

DJ is passionate about curriculum development and teaching. His biggest challenge is to try and make apparently complicated concepts accessible and usable for people regardless of where they have to deliver care. DJ states that it is “…often more important to have clarity about the urgency and severity of a problem than it is to have a precise diagnosis. We need to understand what a patient does or does not have and whether or not it is a big deal.” His reward is the light bulb going on in students minds. When one can say “I’ve got; I didn’t realize it would be so simple!”

Larry Hansen

Credentials:

EMTP-IC/RN, WEMT-I

Larry has worked in EMS for 30 years and currently works full-time as a Paramedic in Northern Michigan. He has been involved in teaching multiple areas and levels of EMS and nursing. Larry serves as the Tactical Medic for NMMATF ERT Team and is an RN on Mackinaw Island during the summer.

When not working, Larry enjoys spending his time hunting, fishing, backpacking, traveling, and exploring the outdoors with his wife, Beverly, and sons, Jake and Sam, by his side.

Michelle Groendyke

Credentials:

WEMT-P

Michelle works full-time as a paramedic for American Medical Response in West Michigan. She enjoys working in austere environments as a part of AMR’s Disaster Response Team and has been on several Gulf Coast deployments to aid in hurricane relief. Michelle is also a member of AMR’s Special Response (SWAT) Team. In her spare time Michelle enjoys running, kayaking, and adventure racing.

C. Brian Gee

Credentials:

WEMT

Brian currently lives in Grand Rapids, MI where he works as a registered nurse. He spent 10 years in Crested Butte, CO working as a professional ski patroller and with the Crested Butte Fire Protection District's EMS system. Crested Butte's abundant extreme terrain provided an ideal and challenging environment in which to practice wilderness medicine. Brian's many experiences with patients in adverse conditions along with his love for the outdoors motivated him to pursue a career with WMA in 2006 and has been a lead instructor since 2008. Included in his repertoire of many outdoor adventures, Brian spent a winter season patrolling in Courchevel, France and has worked as a climbing guide in Canada. When not working or teaching somewhere in the US, Brian loves to peruse his passion for the outdoors by skiing, biking, climbing, or camping. Hopefully in the mountains.

Paul Cunningham

Credentials:

WEMT-I, BS

Paul spent six years as an Air Force Fire fighter/ EMT. After that he attended Great Lakes Maritime Academy and began a career as an officer in the U.S. Merchant Marines. He has served as both the medical and navigational officer of a 50,000 gross ton ship assigned to the North Atlantic trade route. Paul is now back in school pursuing his PA in ER/Trauma medicine at Central Michigan University and is a lead instructor for Northern Cairn LLC. When he's not attending classes or working on the local ambulance service he enjoys mountaineering, kayaking, and spending time with his three amazing kids at their home in Northern Michigan.

Sherry Sproul - General Manager

Sherry is our general manager. If you have questions about courses, need help with booking reservations, etc. she will be your contact! At Northern Cairn LLC we pride ourselves on excellent customer service, it is a number one priority. Contact her at sherry@northerncairn.com or 231-437-3400, or 866-221-8176.

Josh Martin

Credentials:

NP-C, FAWM, CEN, WEMT-P I/C

As President and CEO of Northern Cairn, Josh coordinates and instructs wilderness medicine courses, provides consultation services for corporations, government agencies, and the US Military that provide remote site medical care, operates a Travel Medicine practice for people and companies travelling abroad,  and works in internal medicine as a Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner.

Josh has been a lead instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates for over 11 years and has been involved with emergency medicine for over 18 years.  He is a Nurse Practitioner, a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) through the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) as well as a Board Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) and an EMT-Paramedic Instructor / Coordinator.

A former USAF Pararescueman with multiple deployments in Southwest Aisa, and North Africa in support of Desert Watch and the NASA Space Shuttle program, he now enjoys spending a little more time at home teaching in Northern Michigan with his wife and their three boys.