The Good Life – July-August 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

ON THE COVER // CHAD ERICKSON 22 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com From there, Erickson performs a risk assessment and creates a flight plan based on distance and weight of the crew, patient and fuel – which cannot exceed 3,585 kilos, or approximately 7,900 pounds. In fact, “if we have a 20-minute scene flight and three to four people onboard, we might have to leave somebody behind at the scene because we don't burn off much gas on the way out there," he explained. Using a large remote control cart, he pushes the helicopter out of the hangar and onto the launch pad as the medical crew gathers the necessary supplies. On board, a typical crew consists of a flight paramedic and flight nurse, but depending on the call, NICU nurses, respiratory therapists or maternal nurses may also get tapped. "Then I'll jump in and start my pre-flight checks. By then, the crew is back in the aircraft, so I start it up and go," Erickson said. Within 8 to 15 minutes of getting the call, the helicopter is off the ground and en route, traveling 150 miles per hour. Sometimes, Erickson responds to “scene flights,” flying over the incident (usually within a 40-mile radius of Sanford), assessing the situation and observing the landing zone and any potential obstacles. "A lot of times, from the description of the 911 call, local responders and EMTs will launch us without even seeing a patient," Kressin said. "Early activation is key. If we get out there and we don't transport a patient, no one gets billed.” A DIFFICULT WAITING GAME With just one rotor wing pilot on duty at a time – working 12-hour shifts, seven days on, seven days off – when he isn’t flying, Erickson anxiously awaits a call at the hospital. "In the wintertime, you'll sit here for a week and not be able to fly because of weather, nobody calls you or people are in their houses not doing anything. So you'll sit here for hours," he said.
While boredom can set in, perhaps the biggest challenge is making the judgement call when a request does come in. “There's times when, man, you really want to go but you have weather rules you have to abide by. I have to try and look into the future and see what's going to happen,” he said. “The worst part is turning down a flight and the weather doesn't do what the forecast says.” Luckily, if that’s the case, there are other options. "If I turn down a flight, we’ll send the fixed wing (airplane). Those guys fly in almost anything,” he explained. That is, unless their airport – or the destination airport – is closed. If neither are available, the third option is to go by ground via ambulance. For both dispatchers and those in emergency medicine, part of the job means accepting they may never know the outcome of their work. Flying with up to 15 different crew members in 7 days, Erickson is lucky if he hears in passing about a patient outcome. Some days, he reads about it in the newspaper. "You'll hear bits and pieces of it, but a lot of times, you don't know," he said. Often times, Erickson says doing his job means staying in the zone and accepting you did what you could. In fact, at the end of the day, Erickson says he often grins, overhearing the crew talk about the flight experience and what they achieved on board. In the end, the good life means "having every other week off," Erickson said, laughing and poking fun at his colleagues. "I like coming to work. Look at this facility we have, the people we work with, the equipment we run – that's the good life.” But perhaps what’s most rewarding is "knowing you just saved somebody's life," he said. • urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 23
Page 2 and 3: FATHERS // MR. FULL-TIME DAD WRITTE
Page 4 and 5: Contents JULY-AUGUST 2018 VOLUME 6
Page 6 and 7: OPTIONS FOR SURVIVAL NEW LOCKDOWN P
Page 8 and 9: Demonstrations on how to apply a to
Page 10 and 11: WRITTEN BY: KATIE JENISON 10 / THE
Page 12 and 13: and specialize in treating whatever
Page 14 and 15: HAVING A BEER WITH // GUNNER AND DE
Page 16 and 17: HAVING A BEER WITH // GUNNER AND DE
Page 18 and 19: ON THE COVER // CHAD ERICKSON 18 /
Page 20 and 21: ON THE COVER // CHAD ERICKSON “I
Page 24 and 25: 8 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE
Page 26 and 27: school kids, but there is a great n
Page 28 and 29: 28 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia
Page 30 and 31: LOCAL HERO // SERGEANT NIELSEN AND

The Good Life – July-August 2018

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?