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The chopper arrived in the parking lot at approximately a quarter
after 10, with intentions of staying the day. However, the crew was
called and had to leave the event slightly before noon. The crew
manning the helicopter Saturday consisted of pilot Gary Price,
paramedic Sarah Meyers and nurse Jack Owens.
Air Evac Lifeteam is a privately owned company that offers air
ambulance services to approximately 85 rural regions throughout the
Midwest. The local team is based at a grass landing strip airport
just south of Lake Springfield and services the area within a
70-mile radius of their base, which locally includes Logan and Mason
counties.
This Air Evac unit has been in action since 2002. In that time
they have logged over 3,500 hours of accident-free air time.
Air ambulance services are used as quick and efficient ways to
transport patients from smaller community hospitals to larger
specialized facilities and are also called out for accidents or
other emergencies where it is deemed that their services would be
faster or safer than an ambulance on wheels.
Saturday morning Price and Meyers spent a good deal of time
talking to visitors about the actual helicopter, what they do and
how they do it.
Up close, one of the first things a person will notice is that
the helicopter is relatively small, with the passenger compartment
not as large as that of a mid-sized car.
Inside, the pilot sits on the right side and is boxed in by a
partition that separates him from the patient.
Patients being transported are placed on a gurney and go into the
helicopter with their feet at the nose of the aircraft and their
head at the back.
Directly behind their head is the location of the paramedic, and
to his or her right is a seat for the nurse.
Directly in front of the nurse is a network of monitoring
equipment and medical tools that may be needed during transport.
When comments were made about the complex setup of equipment,
Meyers chuckled and said: "Yes, about the only thing we don't have
in here is an X-ray machine."
Meyers has been with Air Evac approximately two years. She said
she really loves the job, and then qualified it: "I feel bad about
saying that sometimes, because when I'm doing my job, it means
someone else is in trouble."
She also explained that being a paramedic or a nurse in a
helicopter does come with some challenges, mainly relating to
space.
In an emergency room, the nurse has the luxury of being able to
move around a patient as needed. Even a paramedic in a wheeled
ambulance can move around to a certain degree. But inside the
helicopter, much of what is done for a patient has to be done in a
very confined space.
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Sitting at the head of the patient, the paramedic is viewing the
situation basically from an upside-down position.
"My angle is a little different, but you get used to it," Meyers
said.
Price said that as a pilot, he doesn't have anything to do with
the medical side of the situation.
"My job is to fly, but I can hear them talking in the back, and
sometimes I have to shut that out and just concentrate on what I'm
doing," he said.
Price also explained that air services are not cheap and
generally not something a patient or patient family can choose for
themselves. The doctor at the point of origin has to determine that
transfer in flight is the best course of action. This will generally
happen when the patient is in a very high-risk situation and needs
to be moved quickly.
The cost of one air transfer can range from $15,000 to $25,000.
Price said that Air Evac does bill insurance for the
patient. Depending on the coverage a patient has, a large portion
may be paid by insurance, or it may not. After insurance, the
patient is responsible for the balance.
Because of this, Air Evac offers a membership service that can be
very beneficial to people with health conditions that require
special services. With the membership, Air Evac will bill the
insurance and write off from the patient's bill the portion that is
not paid by their provider.
Price said that memberships are priced according to the number of
people covered, but all of the memberships come in at less than $100
a year in this region. The membership is also good in any region
within the Air Evac service areas.
To learn more about the Air Evac Lifeteam, visit their website at
http://springfield.lifeteam.net/.
[By NILA SMITH] |
