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Flight Paramedic with Mercy Flights
As written by Darren T. Loft, EMT-P
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In 1949, a polio epidemic was running rampant through southern Oregon.
A good friend of George Milligan's died of polio while enroute to
Portland, being ten hours away. This lead George Milligan and others to
established Mercy Flights, a non-profit air ambulance to help people in
need of medical treatment and care unobtainable in the Rogue Valley and
out-lying areas.
In the early days, Mercy Flights Incorporated used a modified Cessna
1944 aircraft, purchased through donations from the community, and it
was one of the first private organizations in the United States to do
fixed wing aero medical transports.
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Since then, Mercy Flights has grown by leaps and bounds. The
organization now provides fixed-wing/rotor-wing critical care transport,
a 911 ambulance service that covers 2000 square miles, an Explorer post
helping young people to a career in EMS, and a wheelchair car.
Mercy Flights has grown tremendously from a simple beginning.
Tragically, Mr. Milligan died in a plane crash, doing a patient
transport. Mr. Milligan probably wouldn't recognize the company that
he founded in 1949. However, he would recognize the mission-helping
people in their time of greatest need.
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I have worked for Mercy Flights for over six years now. Practicing
as a Flight Paramedic for Mercy Flights is unique. Flight Paramedics are
rotated off a 911 ambulance for two-month tours to work solely on a
helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft. This gives paramedics an excellent
opportunity to work in a critical care arena.
Working with a C.C.R.N. helps expand your knowledge base and makes
one a better paramedic. During inter-facility flights, you can be
running pumps with vasoactive drugs, setting up and initiating
ventilators, interpreting labs, and setting up and monitoring pressure
transducers for central lines.
On scene flights, paramedics get exposed to more critical patients,
so your skills and knowledge base get put to the test. Being a Flight
Paramedic for Mercy Flights requires a minimum of five years experience,
completion of the National Standard Flight Crew Curriculum, Advance
Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advance Life Support and Prehospital
Trauma Life Support certifications. There aren't many companies in the
United States that give paramedics a possibility to practice in a dual
role situation.
Darren T. Loft
Eagle Point Oregon
Oregon EMT-P since 1994
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