Connecting Maine’s Islands to Healthcare
Why Jim and Pam Cleveland Support LifeFlight
Jim and Pam Cleveland have fond memories of spending summer days in Islesboro with their family. The island in Penobscot Bay is only fourteen miles long and is home to slightly more than 600 year-round residents. It’s where Pam grew up and where the couple’s children and grandchildren now come to visit Jim and her in the warmer months. Summer days are filled with boating, swimming, and enjoying the tranquility that comes with living on the island.
“There’s nothing that can beat a sunset in our backyard. And, of course, seeing our grandkids enjoy the fun of the beach and the dock just really brings new life to you,” said Pam in a recent conversation.
The tranquility of island life in Maine was brought to an abrupt halt for the Clevelands one day in July of 2015 when the couple’s grandson Oliver needed emergency medical care that wasn’t available on Islesboro. The island has a health center, but it is not equipped for the level of care available at larger hospitals on the mainland.
Oliver, who was two years old at the time, and his older brother, James, had been dropped off to spend the night at their grandparent’s house.
“They were entertaining themselves in the living room,” Jim remembered. “They seemed safe and secure.”
While in the living room, the boys found a votive candle with liquid paraffin inside. Jim said it resembled a sippy cup in a way, which is now apparent to him in retrospect. In the blink of an eye and unbeknownst to Jim and Pam, young Oliver took a sip of the toxic liquid. James immediately told his grandparents, who rushed to the living room to check on the toddler.
“He seemed okay. I looked at the bottle, it looked like none was gone,” said Jim. The couple called Poison Control, who recommended they contact the Islesboro Health Center.
“The health center said to bring him right down,” added Pam. The couple immediately took Oliver to the local clinic to be checked out.
“It was getting serious, but I didn’t realize how serious. And then I’ll never forget it, but the physician assistant said, ‘Jim I’m so sorry to meet you at a time like this.’ And then they put Oliver on a nebulizer, and the PA made the decision to call LifeFlight. And that saved Oliver’s life,” recalled Jim. “It gives me a chill now to say it.”
Local EMS on the island transported Oliver in an ambulance from the clinic to Islesboro Municipal Airport, where they continued to treat Oliver as they waited for a LifeFlight of Maine crew to arrive.
After the crew landed, EMS briefed the LifeFlight clinicians on Oliver’s condition. The toddler was then loaded into the helicopter, where he was intubated. He was flown from Islesboro to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
Meanwhile, his parents, who were on the island and had been notified of the accident, got in line for the ferry because there was no room to ride with their son on the helicopter.
The ferry ride from Islesboro to Lincolnville is about twenty minutes. Once on the mainland, it takes another hour and fifteen minutes to drive from the ferry terminal to the hospital. “LifeFlight could do this in twenty minutes, and it was the difference between life and death,” said Pam.
Oliver was in the hospital for five days. Thanks to the quick response from his family, local EMS, LifeFlight, and the hospital, Oliver made a full recovery. The now 12-year-old is very active and enjoys soccer, basketball, and skiing.
Oliver Cleveland on the day he was discharged from the hospital in 2015. Photos courtesy of Morgan Cleveland, Oliver’s mother.
Pam and Jim said they knew nothing about LifeFlight before their grandson’s transport. However, after witnessing the care firsthand, they learned how vitally important the organization is to the people of Maine — especially those who live on the islands.
“All of a sudden it became crystal clear that rural areas in Maine, and isolated areas like islands, have to have a different way to get to healthcare,” said Pam.
“It was life-altering. I realize now that this would have changed our lives forever if this had gone south. And right now, it’s a wonderful story because Oliver is a healthy, happy boy,” said Jim.
For the past ten years, the Clevelands have donated to the LifeFlight Foundation. They encourage others to consider supporting the nonprofit as well.
“It’s an expensive operation, but it’s a lifesaving operation,” said Jim.
“As a donor, you can see all the improvements they make from year to year,” added Pam. “They’re so patient-oriented, and their crew is always training. As we think about where to donate, I always want to see where the money’s going,” said Pam. “It’s really a great organization.”
The couple, who now lives in Kennebunk when they’re not on the island, spoke at an event this past summer on Islesboro to raise funds for LifeFlight and to promote awareness on the island. They want to make sure more people are familiar with the organization’s services and appreciate LifeFlight’s vital role as a connector from the island’s health clinic to higher levels of care.
Additionally, the couple is sharing their family’s story to let others know that LifeFlight helps patients of all ages — from newborns to centenarians.
“I think a lot of people of our age — I’m retired, you know — think of LifeFlight as, ‘Oh, someone had a heart problem,’ or old-age things,” said Jim. “They don’t think about grandchildren coming to visit and something happening, because grandkids, they’re young and they’re healthy.”
Since the event, the Clevelands said they are already seeing increased awareness of LifeFlight on the island.
“A woman at the store, after we had shared our story, saw me in the parking lot, and she said, ‘You know, you really made me rethink the whole
LifeFlight thing.’ Because just like Jim said, you think of it as care for elderly or maybe sickly adults, but really it could be for kids, too,” shared Pam.
While LifeFlight continues to serve Maine’s island communities, especially during the summer months as the population swells, Oliver’s transport was thankfully the Cleveland family’s first and only encounter with LifeFlight, until the reception they spoke at this summer. Jim and Pam love spending time at their summer home with their six grandchildren, and while their focus is mostly on swimming and pick-up soccer games, they’re glad to see their friends and neighbors on the island think a bit more about making an investment in access to healthcare.
Left: The Clevelands on Islesboro, Summer 2025. Right: Oliver in 2025. Photos courtesy of Morgan Cleveland, Oliver’s mother.
