By Beth Reese Cravey
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)
Copyright 2007 The Florida Times-Union
Using Green Cove Springs Mayor Debbie Ricks as a prop, the Life Flight crew members demonstrated how they quickly and securely strap a patient onto a helicopter-bound gurney.
They and their pretend patient were giggling.
But during the course of their normal Life Flight shifts, the flight nurses and paramedics are all business, dedicated to safely transporting victims to trauma centers and other hospitals, hoping to help save lives.
And a second, new location at Reynolds Industrial Park in Green Cove Springs will spread their skills throughout more of North Florida. Life Flight II will respond to calls from fire and rescue agencies within a 150-mile radius of Reynolds - in Clay, St. Johns, Putnam and southern Duval counties, said Toby Witt, medical base supervisor.
“They know when they need to use us,” he said, at a grand opening event Monday. “We get the worst of the worst.”
The need for a second location stemmed from growth in the area, with ground ambulances encountering more and more transport delays, Witt said.
“We wanted the second location to be in the middle of all the growth, but close enough to Jacksonville to support [home base at Baptist Medical Center],” he said.
Life Flight, a Baptist Health Systems program operated by Air Methods Corp., has served North Florida for 27 years. Life Flight transports adult and pediatric patients with traumatic injuries, as well as medical emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes and respiratory problems.
The twin engine helicopters based in Jacksonville and now Green Cove Springs fly about 155 miles per hour, depending on wind conditions. Each of them carries a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic crew. In October 2006, the program was accredited by the Commission on Air Medical Transport Services, the first in Florida to be so recognized. Also, Witt was recently named the international paramedic of the year.
Green Cove Springs Police Chief Robert Musco welcomed the crew members to town.
“You do great things,” he said. “You really are lifesavers. I’m very, very happy to have you here.”