MedFlight team ready at a moment’s notice
In a critical care situation, a few minutes can make all the difference in saving a life. That’s why the MedFlight team is ready at a moment’s notice to jump in a helicopter and fly a patient to a regional trauma center.
“Our goal is that within 25 minutes of their first contact with EMS, our patients have access to Level I trauma care,” said Rod Bair, a flight nurse and public outreach coordinator for the air ambulance service.
ABOVE: MedFlight pilot Joe Stevenson adjusts the helicopter’s panel instrumentation inside the Base 2 hangar at Allen Center on Thursday. HOME PAGE SLIDE SHOW PHOTO: The MedFlight helicopter waits at the ready inside the Base 2 hangar at Allen Center. (PHOTOS | REUBEN MEES)
The three-person crew — a flight nurse, paramedic and pilot — are stationed out of an old farmhouse at Allen Center, in southwestern Union County. Known as Base 2 of the statewide service, the Allen Center station serves Logan, Champaign, Hardin, Union, Madison and Marion counties and provides mutual aid or support to bases in surrounding areas.
The personnel typically work 12- or 24-hour shifts to provide around-the-clock coverage and spend their downtime maintaining their numerous required certifications in various life-saving techniques and medical specialties.
“We have a vast amount of specialties,” Mr. Bair said. “When we’re here, we aren’t just sitting around waiting for runs to come in. We have competencies to meet and are required to complete a minimum of 96 continuous education hours a year. We also maintain all our ‘alphabet courses’ ALS, PALS, ITLS, CPR …”
That is on top of making sure they are properly rested and fed if a series of calls arrives in succession, Mr. Bair said, noting that he has been on as many as eight transports in a 24-hour period.
Preparation
Because when the alarm rings, it’s all hands on deck.
Read complete story in Saturday’s Examiner.
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