Updates from the FlightDeck
Dear Friends,
Welcome to our Fall 2024 issue of Dispatches!
Imagine for a moment you are a member of our clinical crew. You are assigned to transport a critically ill pediatric patient from a rural Maine hospital to a major medical center. On the flight there, you run through your pediatric training in your head. You care for and safely deliver the child to the destination facility.
Almost immediately, you are tasked to treat and transport a completely different patient — a father suffering from a heart attack. While the logistics are similar, you need to change your mindset quickly to face a different set of medical challenges. With a preciously short time to think, you need to react. This is often the way a full 12-hour shift unfolds.
Our crews go through this mental exercise daily — and not only our front-line, clinical crews. Our pilots, mechanics, communicators, and all of our support team members are constantly adapting to the unknown, preparing for the unexpected. We have the best in the business at LifeFlight, and we are intensely proud of this team every single day.
This summer was our busiest on record. We routinely transported 10-12 patients a day from all across Maine. July was our busiest month ever. We cared for 284 patients utilizing every one of our transport modes.
Recognizing the constant pressure our crews face, we developed a list of goals at the start of the year; among them, ensuring we have rigorous support systems in place for our team. To that end, we were pleased to welcome Beth Andrews, LCSW, LADC, in August as the manager of our new Elevate Program. This program is designed to support the mental health and wellbeing of our crew. Beth has deep connections to LifeFlight. She previously served as a Trustee of The LifeFlight Foundation, but her connection to LifeFlight started in 2007 when her daughter, Lauren, was a LifeFlight patient — coming full circle, Lauren interned with The LifeFlight Foundation this summer.
Also this past summer, we expanded our Critical Care Ground Transport program to our Sanford base, welcoming four new EMTs as part of that program. We will be expanding to our Lewiston base this fall. We brought our patient account services department into LifeFlight, hiring four individuals who for many years have supported LifeFlight’s patients and families after they have been transported. We strive to maintain some of the most ethical billing processes in the industry, and this team, led by Jill Sanborn, cares deeply about making sure every patient is treated fairly and compassionately when it comes to the financial aspects of their transport.
The summer wrapped up with our annual Cross for LifeFlight, our largest fundraising event of the year. We want to offer a sincere “thank you” to the many individuals from Maine (and beyond) who took part in the event. This year’s event raised more than $215,000 to support our mission.
This fall will continue to be busy. We have hired two new aviation maintenance technicians and four new clinical crew members, each of whom will go through a rigorous orientation program that will include developing technical skills and learning more about LifeFlight’s culture and mission.
Finally, we are incredibly proud to announce that LifeFlight of Maine was named one of the “Best Places to Work in Maine” for 2024. This recognition is based on feedback from our team members in a survey conducted by the BestCompanies Group. It represents a significant honor for our organization and reflects our years-long commitment to excellence at all levels.
We feel fortunate to come to work every day alongside an amazing team, and it would not be possible without the generosity of people like you. So, thank you for your ongoing support of our mission! Fall in Maine is a special time, and we hope that you and those you care about have a wonderful season.
Sincerely,
Joe Kellner
CEO, LifeFlight of Maine
Kate O’Halloran
Executive Director, The LifeFlight Foundation
