POTSDAM — St. Lawrence
County welcomed the arrival of medical helicopter service at the
official opening Thursday of Air Methods’ LifeNet of New York station at
Potsdam Municipal Airport.
The north country’s need for medical
helicopters has been alleviated by two new LifeNet stations opening this
year; the station at Watertown International Airport near Dexter opened
in June.
According to Air Methods Regional Vice President David M. Poulsen, the choice to bring service to Potsdam was an easy one.
Local leaders “knew what they needed, and they knew the answers to our questions, so it was an easy match,” Mr. Poulsen said.
The
helicopters have been operating out of Potsdam since Oct. 1, but
Thursday’s ribbon-cutting marked the ceremonial start for the
fee-for-service business here. Village Mayor Steven W. Yurgartis and
Administrator David H. Fenton welcomed the helicopter and its crew to
the region.
The Potsdam station will employ 14 full-time staff
members: four pilots, four paramedics, four registered nurses and two
mechanics. Some employees are on loan from other stations at the moment,
as LifeNet recruits and trains new full-time staff.
The local
staff expects to respond to about 20 calls a month. The Potsdam and
Watertown stations will back each other up in case of multiple
emergencies.
Helicopters respond to emergency scenes such as car
crashes or travel to area hospitals to fly critically injured patients
to trauma centers such as Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, or
Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vt.
The job is stressful,
but rewarding, said flight paramedic Lanny A. Miglioraro. “It’s
ever-changing every day. You never know what you’re going to get,” he
said.
Every flight has a team of three: the pilot, a nurse and a paramedic.
Even
before the crew gets off the ground, there are important decisions to
be made. The Potsdam station has made two flights so far, but has had to
turn down several other requests because of weather conditions unsafe
for flying.
“The weather is the ultimate factor in what we do,” said Jesse A. Edwards, the lead pilot at the Potsdam station.
Mr.
Edwards took the job as a LifeNet pilot after finishing his time with
the Army at Fort Drum. “It gave me a chance to keep flying,” he said.
The pressure is high when patients’ lives are on the line.
“We’ve
seen some of the worst, most critically injured patients,” said Mr.
Miglioraro, who has worked as a paramedic for 22 years.
Sometimes,
despite best efforts, a patient doesn’t survive the trip to the
hospital. But many do, with crucial time saved thanks to the speed
provided by medical helicopters. This is what makes the job worthwhile,
Mr. Miglioraro said.
“There’s always that positive feeling,” he said.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com
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