Gov. Ricketts, NSP Col. Bolduc honor state troopers for medicine relay
By Noah Johnson, NET News
July 16, 2018, 2:05 a.m. ·
Governor Pete Ricketts and Nebraska State Patrol Col. John Bolduc honored several state troopers who relayed a potentially life-saving medication to a hospital in Colorado in May on Monday.
The Children’s Hospital in Aurora contacted University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha on May 29 in search of a rare medication used for amoeba-related infections. Due to overcast weather and lightning, there were no private aircrafts that could transport the medication to Colorado.
State troopers relayed the medication from Omaha to North Platte, where a pilot was then able to transport the medication to the hospital.
“Because of HIPPA laws we can’t know the person involved but that really just highlights that these troopers were willing to work hard to help somebody they didn’t even know and that’s something Nebraska State Patrol does each and every day,” Ricketts said.
Bolduc said the decision to relay the medication across the state is an easy one.
“We believe that our citizens have an expectation with us that we are going to do the right thing 100 percent of the time in these situations,” Bolduc said. “I think when you couple that with the fact that it was the only option at that point, the decision kind of made itself.”
Bolduc also complimented Lt. Matt Sutter for his efforts in organizing the relay.
“Sutter went to work, he sprang into action like troopers do every single day,” he said. “This teamwork and this great thinking by Lt. Sutter produced this great result.”
Bolduc said the type of teamwork exhibited by state troopers during the relay are seen in everything NSP does.
“The overall environment of the state patrol is a team environment anyway. And so whether we are doing something like this or doing traffic enforcement, we are a very close knit family and we do have that bond,” Bolduc said. “It’s great to get everyone in a room together and talk about this today, but ultimately this is what we do every day in our organization, so although this one is a little unique, this is a typical day for us.”