Flight for Life made history 53 years ago as the country’s first helicopter medical transport service based at a civilian hospital. Now it’s breaking new ground by bringing its life-saving operations to a new base at CommonSpirit - St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City.
“Residents of southwestern Kansas now have faster access to the best possible care, close to home,” said Region Director Jon Massey.
And patients can rest assured that if they need transport, they’ll never receive an inflated bill. That’s because CommonSpirit Health Flight for Life is a nonprofit operation and its primary concern is patient care, not padded charges.
“With Flight for Life, we provide service to all patients. We never ask a patient about their financial status before providing their medical transport. We do what is right for every patient, every time,” Massey said.
Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Flight for Life transports each patient to the appropriate medical facility, as determined by the individual’s condition, personal preferences, and physician input. That might be a CommonSpirit or other hospital close to home, or to a hospital that handles more complex cases further away in Wichita or Kansas City.
For trips within 150 miles of Garden City, patients will travel via an Airbus A-Star helicopter - the same kind used to land on top of Mount Everest. For longer distances, Flight for Life will send a fixed-wing plane. Both types of aircraft are staffed by pilots with thousands of hours in the cockpit, nurses with at least five years of critical care experience in a busy ICU or emergency room, and paramedics who have advanced skills.
“Our crews have to have a lot of experience, but they also have to be able to adapt to a lot of unknowns so they can ensure the safest possible trip with the highest level of care,” said Dan Gormley, Chief Flight Nurse of Rural Operations.
Flight for Life was founded in Colorado and pioneered techniques for safe medical transport in mountainous terrain, under difficult weather conditions. Southwest Kansas will pose different challenges, but the teams are prepared.
“The area is so rural, we’ll have to fly longer distances in some cases,” Gormley said. “Our caregivers are already very skilled before they join Flight for Life, but then they spend months getting additional training to learn the unique skills needed to operate effectively in the air.”
Caregivers must instantly know where everything is in the confined space of a helicopter. They need access to special gear and advanced medical techniques to deal with any situation that may arise. Nurses and paramedics can provide intensive care services for a wide range of needs, including trauma, cardiac problems, stroke, burns, premature babies, high-risk pregnancy, and more.
The service will be a relief for many, even those who may never need a helicopter transport. Patients are often confused about their transportation options in case of a medical emergency. Some pay out of pocket for an annual “membership” in private, for-profit services that they may never use. Those programs have drawn criticism and even been outlawed in some states because of confusing benefits, surprise bills, and no guarantee that the service will be available when needed.
Those problems are never a concern with Flight for Life, which is contracted with all major insurers in the southwestern Kansas area. Flight for Life bills only what is required so that patients aren’t financially burdened.
The new service officially began operating out of Garden City in August, and is looking forward to a special blessing set for Nov. 11. So far, they’ve transported more than 20 patients, and Massey expects to help about 250 more people in rural Kansas over the next year. When they’re not in the air, Flight for Life teams will use their skills to support and improve hospital care at CommonSpirit - St. Catherine.
The new Flight for Life operation will bring additional benefits to the community, including up to 18 new jobs. Many team members will be new residents of the area, while others are locals. When they’re not saving lives, they’ll often be donating their time to train local search and rescue groups or EMS, or even delivering footballs to high school football games.
“They are really looking forward to living in their new communities and enjoying all the benefits of small-town life,” Massey said.
