Rotary Program: 8/6/03

Program Chairperson: Jeanne Clark

Speaker: Linda Minton, Medical Flight Coordinator, Pikeville Methodist Hospital

Linda Minton is a graduate of the St. Elizabeth School of Nursing in Lafayette, Indiana and has worked in hospitals in Louisville before coming to Pikeville to head the Medflight Program that just got “off the ground” on June 3, 2003. It has been the dream of many to have our very own medical evacuation service for the community. This new service complements the already existing “Ground Transfer Service” fleet which has been in place for several years. This new “Twin Star AS355 F2 helicopter can cut the transfer time in half for critically injured or trauma patients who need to be brought to the hospital or transferred to another hospital for treatment. The service covers a radius of approximately 120 miles and can carry one patient at a time. The flight crew consists of a Pilot, Flight Nurse, and a Flight Paramedic. Each member of the crew have undergone extensive and rigorous training to enable them to fly over the mountainous terrain of Eastern Kentucky and in the ever-changing weather conditions of the area. Their dedication to their job and to the care of the patient is second-to-none and they make it a point to spread the news about the quality of care they will get at our hospital. Even the families of the crews must make similar commitments to allow them to function in such a risky profession. But the challenge, Linda says, to build a flight program from the ground up is what drew her to Pikeville and she sees it as a great opportunity to make a difference. The crews operate an “A B C D” response. This is an acronym for the functions of “Airway, Breathing, Circulation, and Disabling Condition”. Each aspect of the patient’s condition is under constant attention by the flight crew during the transfer operation until the patient is admitted to another facility. Linda stated that most of the flights to date have been bringing patients into Pikeville Methodist Hospital or to transfer them to the University of Kentucky Medical Center or to Cabell-Huntington Hospital. But they will bring a patient from anywhere or transfer them to anywhere, based on the need at the time. Flight time ranges from 25 – 30 minutes to Huntington, 45 minutes to Lexington, and about 1 hour and 20 minutes to Louisville, a fraction of the time it would take by a ground crew. Linda also stated that as more flight hours are logged and the data of their services are kept, the program could grow to include even more aircraft and crews, if that proves to be necessary to meet the needs of the program. At this point, Linda invited all the Rotarians to stop by the parking lot for a tour of the aircraft and see firsthand what a great asset this is to our hospital and to our community. As their slogan puts it, “When It Matters Most” sounds very appropriate. Thanks Linda for the informative program and welcome to Pikeville. - J. Morgan Chapman