This past Friday I had the privilege of flying with an air medical team in a helicopter. I visited our friends in Morehead, KY a month or two ago and found out that they live next to a helicopter base. We went across the road to the base and met one of the pilots. He told me about their ride-along program that they offer to medical students at the hospital next door. It gives the students an opportunity to see if they would like to do emergency care through flying as a flight nurse or paramedic. Since I was a pilot and not a med student I still could go with them to see what the flying aspect of the team was like. So I emailed the people and we arranged a date that I could come and ride with them for a whole day.
I drove from Louisville to Morehead (~2 hours) on Thursday night and spent the night with our friends, the Mansfields (check out Aaron Mansfield's blog- Eclogues), and then in the morning around 8am I went over to the base. We started right away and were up in the air within 15 minutes of me getting there. In the morning they did a drill at a high school about 10 minutes (flight) away. At the school they staged an accident and students played the roles of people injured in the cars. They had actually collided the cars and put dummies in there and a few students who had fake blood and injuries. The EMS, fire department, coroner, the air medical team (PHI), and police were all involved and they responded to the emergency as if it were a real one. We (in the helicopter) were waiting at the nearby airport for them to call us and when they did we lifted up and within a couple minutes we were sitting in the parking lot of the high school. They put the “injured” student on the stretcher and then loaded them in the helicopter. Officially, if it were a real accident they would lift off right away and go to the hospital, but this time we just stayed on the ground and then unloaded the patient.
 |
| PHI 1 Morehead, KY |
After the first drill we (PHI air medical team) went and got gas just in case if there was a real emergency that we would be prepared and then came back and did another drill pretty much the same way as the first one. It was really neat to see how they would respond in an emergency and what they do. It was also awesome to be in a helicopter for the first time! It’s neat how you go up straight and then you’re in the air rather than having to have a runway.
The difference between helicopters and planes is that
1. The ride is bumpier (the blades hit the air a certain way which causes the aircraft to shake),
2. A helicopter requires less room to take off and so is beneficial because they can land anywhere but can’t go as far on a tank of fuel, and
3. Planes are better for long distances but have limited landing areas.
After doing the drills we returned to base in Morehead and then the team did paperwork and/or took naps. The medical personnel on the team work 24hour shifts while the pilot works 12. On that shift if they get a call they go to it but the rest of the time they are just waiting, doing paperwork, or taking a short nap since their shift is so long and they need to be awake during the night.
It was such a great experience to see how a helicopter works and how the air medical team works. Depending on where I eventually go in my flying career I may add a rotor wing (helicopter) certificate to what I have.
Fly (in a plane or helicopter or anything) with Christ,
Helen
No comments:
Post a Comment