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When time is of the essence—nothing beats flying.
That’s why the LifeFlight Eagle Air Ambulance has been so successful.
When you’re traveling at up to 135 miles an hour, it takes
very little time to transport a critical patient.
It was June 1978 when the Spirit of Saint Joseph Life
Flight took off. It was the fifth air ambulance service in the country
and the first in Kansas City. A lot has changed in 25 years.
“When we started flying, we flew single nurses,”
says Michel Hall Wofford, RN, certified flight registered nurse
(CFRN). “It was just a nurse and the pilot. At night we couldn’t
use any interior lights because they interfered with the pilot’s
night vision, so you’d hold a flashlight in you mouth so your
hands would be free for treatment.”
Now the flight team includes a pilot, a flight nurse
and a flight paramedic. The medical crew must have at least five
years experience prior to flight and the pilots have an average
of 25 years flying experience. Oh, and the light problem has been
addressed.
The name has changed as well—a few times. In 1985,
St. Luke’s Hospital joined as a co-sponsor and the service
became known as The Spirit of Kansas City Life Flight. Then in 1996,
The Spirit of Kansas City Life Flight merged with the Research Eagle
and the LifeFlight Eagle was born. Saint Joseph Health Center, Saint
Luke’s Hospital, Children’s Mercy Hospital and Research
Medical Center were the original sponsors.
Wofford was a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit of Saint
Joseph Hospital in 1981 when the chief flight nurse from an air
ambulance program in Denver came to speak to nurses about the program.
Wofford says she knew right away that’s what she wanted to
do. “I’ve had a very rewarding and fulfilling career.
I’ll do this as long as I’m physically able.”
It’s the same story for Stacey Dock, RN, CFRN.
“I was in school at KU and took an EMT class. A crew from Life
Flight came in. At the time I said, ‘I don’t want to be
a nurse, but I want to do this!’ So I worked as an EMT in college,
got my BSN and worked in hospital ERs to gain enough experience.”
So on a beautiful June day, Stacey, her partner, Mike
Hagen, paramedic, and pilot Jim Cummings were sort of returning
the favor. They flew from the headquarters at the downtown airport
to an area hospital to talk with a group of nursing students.
“This German-made BK 117 helicopter is the more
popular in the EMS business due to the work space,” Cummings
tells them.
Hagen explains how the team approach of a nurse and
paramedic works. “We are 50/50 partners,” he says. “It’s
really a great team. The skills of the two professions help us provide
the best care for patients.”
This was an easy run--unusual for the crew. Most of their flights
(about 70 percent) involve patient transfers from one hospital to
another. The others are calls to accidents. LifeFlight Eagle transports
to any hospital in a 150-mile radius of Kansas City.
“It’s challenging, because you never know what you’re
going to be doing,” says Dock. “But you get to give one
patient all of your attention. It’s very gratifying.”
A heartfelt thanks from the editor to Jim, Mike and Stacey for
a wonderful ride. I was very glad to be a passenger and not a patient!
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