St. John?s Life Line adds new medical helicopters

The first of two new helicopters leased by St. John's Regional Health Center be-gan flights Jan. 22, according to Flight Nurse Karla Lucas, RN, CCRN. The second new aircraft will be placed at St. John's Life Line center in St. Robert.

The EC-135 twin-engine aircraft is leased from Metro Aviation, located in Shreveport, La. Pilots and mechanics for the aircraft are also provided by Metro, Lucas said.

"After doing this for eight years, this new helicopter has made a great difference," Lucas said. "It's quieter, faster and has more space."

The Springfield Life Line unit is headed up by Charles Sheppard, MD, who is the medical director. Chief Flight Nurse D.J. Satterfield, RN, BSN, CEN, is in charge of personnel.

"One of the benefits of the extra space in the new aircraft is it will allow the chief flight nurse and I to do monitoring of new employees as direct observers," Sheppard said.

Lucas said the Springfield Life Line unit averages two flights per day and she has experienced days when as many as six flights have transported patients.

Total flights out of the Springfield center were 960 in 2001. The total requests for flights between Springfield and the St. Robert center were 1,484 that same year, but the total actual flights was 1,200.

Life Line One in Springfield does about 70 percent scene calls, which Lucas said include trauma, medical and cardiac emergencies. The other 30 percent of flights are for hospital-to-hospital transport.

At St. Robert the percentages are inverted, with 70 percent of the calls for hospital-to-hospital transport, Lucas said.

The aircraft at each center typically operate in a 150-mile radius from their home bases and they usually transport patients to the nearest medical facility equipped to handle the patients' needs.

"We try to accommodate the patient's choice," Lucas said. "But we make sure the facility has the level of care to meet the emergency."

Most flights from St. Robert transport patients to Columbia or St. Louis. Springfield flights usually bring patients to St. John's or Cox, Lucas said.

St. Robert is scheduled to receive its new EC-135 in September or October of this year.

The first unit was leased with option to buy after one year. The second aircraft will be on a two-year lease with option to buy, Lucas stated.

The new helicopters will replace Life Line's two BO-105 twin-engine aircraft, one of which was purchased for the hospital in 1984 by John Q. Hammons. That helicopter was moved to St. Robert until the new unit for that center arrives.

According to Sheppard, the BO-105 aircraft will be kept in service as a back- up.

Lucas said although the equipment used in flight is the same as before, the new aircraft allows space for more equipment and room for an extra person so a specialist or observer can accompany on the flights. It also allows more room for the staff to work and provide better care for the patient.

The old helicopters traveled at about two miles per minute, Lucas said. The new aircraft can fly from Springfield to Branson in 13 to 14 minutes.

"The greatest thing overall is increased safety and increased speed," Sheppard said. "Speed is the biggest thing in a medical emergency."

Sheppard went on the say that two flight crew members and one pilot and a mechanic are on duty at the Springfield center 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The center operates with 30 Life Line medical employees.