Utah's Life Flight Rescue Team
January 26th, 2009
Saving lives by conducting treacherous rescue operations on a daily basis.
by Jacob Hodgen
Somewhere in an isolated canyon in Southern Utah, there has been a terrible accident. While out hunting with his father, a young boy has been shot and is need of urgent medical care. Search and rescue operations are immediately mobilized, but the wounded child lies at the bottom of a steep, remote canyon and help is still far away. To make matters worse, it is about to get dark.
The situation looks grim. When dusk arrives, panic begins to set in as the two desperate hunters face the prospect of a cold and lonely night at the bottom of a treacherous ravine.
But there is still hope. A red helicopter appears on the horizon and spots them just as the sun sets. The pilot moves in to make a precision landing on a sandbar near the wounded boy, and a paramedic and flight nurse jump out to treat him on the spot. Stabilized and grateful, the boy is airlifted to the hospital and tragedy is narrowly averted.
Welcome to the world of Utah's Life Flight rescue team. This is what they do.
You have probably seen their red and white helicopters flying low across the city. And you have probably heard about them on the news dropping in to save yet another snowboarder from an ill-fated encounter with an avalanche.
I sat down the with flight crew of the Provo-based Life Flight crew to learn about their high profile operation.
Life Flight operates four helicopters and three airplanes spread out through the state. Their mission is simple: provide rapid response and transportation for patients in critical condition across Utah. The majority of their calls, roughly 70%, involve transporting patients whose condition becomes too severe for their current facility to handle. They have access to cutting edge equipment and have the only civilian helicopter and crew in the country certified by the FAA to operate a rescue hoist. They also have helmet-mounted night vision goggles that are so powerful they can locate stranded hikers solely by the light of their cell phones.
Laura Osoro, the crew's Certified Flight Nurse, says that the most challenging aspect of her job is maintaining peak performance at all times while never knowing what will happen next. "Each call is different, and you have to be at the top of your game every time."
But patients are not the only thing the crew has to worry about, as flying in rescue helicopters is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Poor weather, hazardous landing zones, and hidden obstacles, such as power lines, pose a continual threat and require constant vigilance from the crew. John Lords, the crew's helicopter pilot, tells me that safety is the number one priority: "Going out is a group decision. If anyone feels bad about the mission, then we do not go." To combat the perils inherent in their daily duties, the crew perpetually seeks to refine their skills to the point of mastery. John tells me that, "everyday is a training session."
When they are not on duty, though, the crew members report that they all enjoy outdoor activities such as ice-climbing, four-wheeling, back-country hiking, and hunting. I point out that these are just the sorts of things that might necessitate a helicopter rescue, should things go awry, and they laugh about it. They are well aware of the irony, and say they have thought about it before--but only momentarily.
Think you have what it takes to be a member of the Life Flight crew? You are in good company, and competition for jobs is extraordinarily fierce. Hundreds of applicants compete for each available position, so Life Flight gets its pick from the best Utah has to offer. For example, Rick Black, the crew's paramedic, is also a Captain in the Salt Lake City Fire Department. He works for Life Flight part-time on his days off.
One surprising fact I learned during the interview is that not all Utahns are particularly fond of their services. "We get lots of complaints about the noise." Yes, that's right. Utah has an active population that routinely complains about the noise from the rescue helicopter's flight path, even though they know that there are likely critically injured patients on board whose lives are in jeopardy.
To these heartless misanthropists I offer the following request: next time you shatter your spine and need a medevac, try to keep it down for the rest of us, okay? As for the civilized residents of Utah that do not seek to trade freedom from noise for human life, we will continue to stare in awe and admiration when we see a red helicopter delivering hope to some unfortunate soul and offer them our best wishes as they pass us by.
