LifeFlight service has become one the nation's best in its 10-year history
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BY CRAIG CROSBY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 08/10/2008

BY CRAIG CROSBY

Staff Writer

When former Gov. Angus King considered the impact of the new LifeFlight of Maine air medical service when it was introduced in 1998, one prescient thought came to mind.

"The state just got smaller," King said.

Over the past 10 years, LifeFlight of Maine has carried thousands of critically ill and injured patients to hospitals around New England while developing a track record that has earned it recognition as one the best programs in the nation.

By getting patients to critical-care hospitals faster, and, perhaps more importantly, taking emergency-room level care directly to the patients, LifeFlight has meant more saved lives.

"When we were brought into the picture, we were told Maine needs a helicopter service, build it," said Thomas Judge, executive director of LifeFlight of Maine. "We've made it efficient and effective. I think it's reflective of a whole group of people helping make the health-care system better in Maine. We don't do it by ourselves, but we really do glue it together."

There was no equipment or procedures in place when Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems and Central Maine Healthcare collaborated 10 years ago to create LifeFlight. In just a decade, LifeFlight, which will be honored by the Association of Air Medical Services in October, has become one of the best air medical programs in the nation.

"What I'm most proud of is it's synonymous with quality," said Dr. Larry Hopperstead of the LifeFlight steering committee. "We've really enhanced the safety of everyone who lives in the State of Maine."

While improving the infrastructure -- nearly every hospital will have a helipad by the end of the year -- LifeFlight implemented an education program for emergency medical professions at every level across the state. The goal is to make sure every person in the chain of survival, from paramedic by the side of the road, to the trauma surgeon at the hospital, carries out his or her role at the time it is needed, Judge said. "They've come a long way in improving their system and making it accessible for the first responders around the state," said paramedic Tim Beals, executive director of Delta Ambulance. "Maine being as rural as it is, there's a need. I think they've done well to meet that need."

It means life

LifeFlight certainly met the need of Sarah Mueller in May of 2007. The Madison woman, who was 17 at the time, was driving back to the University of Maine at Farmington from Waterville when another car crossed the centerline on Route 2 in Mercer and crashed head-on into Mueller's car.

The other driver died. Mueller was unconscious and trapped in her vehicle with head and chest injuries, as well as multiple broken bones, when paramedics from Redington Fairview EMS arrived. It took 20 minutes to get Mueller from her car, by which time Mueller's lungs were filling up with blood.

Paramedics, who called for LifeFlight as soon as they heard the crash included a fatality, stabilized Mueller and kept her breathing until the LifeFlight helicopter arrived.

Mueller, who suffered two broken legs, a bruised lung and other injuries, was in a medically-induced coma for 10 days and spent six more weeks recovering in the hospital.

"Having LifeFlight being able to expedite her to a trauma center greatly enhanced her chances of survival," said Everett Flannery III, one of the Redington-Fairview paramedics who responded to the accident.

Mueller, who has switched to a community health education major since the accident, believes she likely would have died without LifeFlight.

"I was told I was in very bad shape and needed to get out of there as soon as possible," she said. "LifeFlight saved me, so to me, it means life."

"We're all the same team," said Kim McGraw a registered nurse and paramedic who has been with LifeFlight all 10 years of its existence. "Once we're at the scene (the ground paramedics) are our first contact. They've got 20 minutes-plus of experience to tell us what (the patients) were doing."

But the vast majority of the calls handled by local ambulance crews on the ground will never involve LifeFlight.

"They're a tool for the system," Beals said. "When it's appropriate, you use them. It's not something for every call."

When LifeFlight is called, however, the crews can get to the scene faster than ever. The twin-engine Agusta 109E helicopters purchased new in 2005 are capable of speeds of 165 miles per hour and can make the trip from Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor -- LifeFlight's two helicopters are permanently stationed at EMMC and CMMC in Lewiston -- in less than one hour.

The helicopters are flown and maintained by EraMED, a medical transportation operator, which provides eight full time professional pilots and three full time mechanics.

LifeFlight nurses and paramedics have years of specialty experience in hospital critical care units in addition to 150 hours of initial training provided by LifeFlight.

The crews

LifeFlight crews, the only field responders in the state authorized to give blood transfusions, land at an accident with the knowledge and experience accrued through sheer volume.

"They are handling, day in, day out, the sickest patients," said Kevin McGinnis, a paramedic in Winthrop and a LifeFlight foundation trustee. "My opportunity to do procedures they do frequently is limited."

The crew is subject to strict oversight and is accountable to a team of medical professionals who review every call. "Because we're such a small crew we're able to do a lot of training," said paramedic David White, a member of the LifeFlight crew based at CMMC. "If you screw up, people die."

That holds true for the pilots as well. Once a tone has come in, the crew can be in the air in less than 10 minutes, but there are very particular standards guiding decisions on whether the helicopter can fly safely.

Pilots are only told the location of the accident and patients weight to prevent other considerations, such as whether a child is involved, while making a decision on whether or not to fly.

"If anybody's getting nervous, anybody can say they don't want to finish the flight," said pilot John Scanlon. "Being cocky has led to accidents in the past within the industry."

Despite its success in the field, LifeFlight, which is a non-profit organization, continues to face financial challenges.

While the cost for a flight can vary, an average trip in a LifeFlight helicopter is $6,000, said Melissa Arndt, marketing and educational outreach manager for the LifeFlight Foundation.

While insurance often covers those costs, about 29 percent of its patients are uninsured. There are insurance plans that cover only a portion of the bill or provide no coverage at all, Arndt said.

LifeFlight has received government grants for special projects, but it does not receive routine government funding for operations, Arndt said

In the fiscal year 2007, which ended in June, LifeFlight's expenses crested $6.5 million and the program took in $5.9 million in revenue from patient billing and donations, leaving a shortfall of $680,000.

But the service accrued more than $1 million in outstanding uninsured patient billing that will never be collected.

"We know Maine is getting older," Judge said. "We know there's a lot of economic challenges. We know that health care is under stress. We constantly look for ways to speed up and refine our process to make sure we're going to be there in the future."

Craig Crosby -- 623-3811, Ext. 433

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

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