MedFlight program takes off

STAFF WRITER

MedFlight of Eastern Kentucky recently purchased a new helicopter to add speed, safety and better patient care to each flight, and is offering a ride-along program.

The program enables people like Barbara Rosen, an R.N. and day shift supervisor of patient care at the Williamson Memorial Hospital, and others who work in health care an opportunity to experience MedFlight first-hand, said MedFlight Pilot and Site Manager Don Shamblen.

Rosen said even though her ride on the helicopter didn't include any patients, she still gained a better understanding of what MedFlight does by coming to get a close look at the helicopter and taking a ride.

“I got to see equipment that is used inside the helicopter when the patient is transported from our facility to a trauma center,” Rosen said. “I took away a better understanding of the care of patients while in flight.”

Susan Mobus, Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine Emergency Medicine Club president, said club members and other medical students can also sign up to ride along. However, they don't participate, but go to learn from what they observe, she said.

Sometimes medical students in their second year have a tough time deciding what area of medicine they wish to study, Mobus said. But an opportunity such as this could help students make their decision.

“Anything that's going to give us exposure to different modalities will help us make decisions about what type of medicine we want to practice,” she said. This opportunity will allow students to get an idea of what being an emergency physician is all about, Mobus said.

Pikeville Medical Center partners with CJ Systems Aviation Group to form MedFlight of East Kentucky. The new twin-engine helicopter is bigger than the old one, and allows for two patients, unless one patient is in critical condition, Shamblen said .

The helicopter has twin-engines, which makes the helicopter safer than a single-engine craft.

While going for a spin in the helicopter, Shamblen mentioned that to take off or land, both engines are needed. But if one engine quits while the helicopter is in the air, the craft can keep flying, but would have to perform an emergency landing on a landing strip at an airport, he said.

Shamblen explained how the navigation system works, showing how the computerized display shows which way to travel by basically working like a computerized compass, but pointing in the direction the helicopter should go to reach its destination.

After a stunning bird's eye view of Pikeville and a brief stop for gas at the Big Sandy Regional Airport, Shamblen programmed the navigation display to go to the Williamson Memorial Hospital so Rosen could see what MedFlight workers see when coming to her hospital.

Rosen's observations during the flight included that the helicopter is fully equipped, but the space has very close quarters.

She said Williamson Memorial relies on MedFlight, and when they call, the helicopter gets there very quickly.

“It's very much needed in this area,” Rosen said about MedFlight's service. “I feel like they have a very competent medical staff on board, as well as the pilot.”

Shamblen, who has been a pilot for 23 years, was trained as a pilot in the Army, and instead of flying for oil companies that seek only profit, he decided he wanted to work for a different cause.

“I wanted to do this, and actually help people,” Shamblen said.

Another notable difference between the old and new helicopter is that on a case-by-case basis, when a child is being flown, a parent can ride along on the new helicopter with his or her child, Shamblen said.

Other important features of the craft include GPS navigation and a stretcher with fold down legs with wheels. Satellite tracking is yet another, enabling the dispatcher to be able to tell where the helicopter is at all times, Shamblen said. The satellite weather radar allows the pilot to see where bad weather is, like heavy rains, so he or she can navigate around it, he said.

The $4 million multi-engine EC135-type helicopter, manufactured by Eurocopter, made 58 flights in May and 40 in June, Shamblen said.

MedFlight got the helicopter right off the assembly line in April, but it has only been used to transport patients since the beginning of May so training could take place, Shamblen said.

A lot of flights are interfacility transfers, and flights go to all hospitals in the area, he said. The scene flights, say from a car accident, take patients to the closest trauma center: Cabbell Huntington Hospital or Saint Mary's Hospital in Huntington, W.Va., or Holsten Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., Shamblen said.

MedFlight of East Kentucky has four pilots, six paramedics and six nurses, he said.

Each flight carries one pilot, one flight nurse and one flight paramedic, Shamblen said.

For scene flights, the crew tries to be off the ground within five minutes, and for interfacility transfers, they take off within about seven to 10 minutes, Shamblen said.

It really takes a special kind of person to do this line of work, Rosen said. “I admire them for doing it.”

MedFlight of Eastern Kentucky is really the only way to transport patients quickly, said Flight Paramedic Tommy Coley.

From Pikeville to Huntington, W.Va., the location of the nearest trauma center, it only takes about 18-20 minutes to get there when flying, Coley said. Or to get to Phelps, it only takes eight minutes, versus a one-hour drive, he said.

The next closest medical helicopter is located in Hazard, Shamblen said.

Before MedFlight was established in Pikeville three years ago, a helicopter would have to come from Lexington if anyone needed one, Shamblen said.

Coley said he has been a paramedic for 12 years and a flight paramedic for a little over one year.

“I love flying,” Coley said.

The old helicopter will remain within the company, just not at the Pikeville location, Shamblen said.

MedFlight also offers landing zone training, Shamblen said, so responders on the scene of an accident can set up a landing zone so the helicopter can pick up accident victims. They also try to convey the need to locate landing zones away from power lines that the helicopter's pilot can't see.

In the future, pilots will use night-vision goggles when the helicopter flies at night, which won't change flight criteria, but will enhance safety, Shamblen said.

Mobus said the ride-along program could be helpful to medical students later on when they become physicians. They will be able to recall their experiences with the successful helicopter program in Pikeville, and that could help to promote the service in other areas, Mobus said.

“Exposure is part of servicing the community,” Mobus said. “Obviously, it's going to be beneficial for everyone.”

Staff writer Lindsay Lancaster can be reached via e-mail at llancaster@news-expressky.com.