Page 20 - Robeson Living Fall 2019

From left are AirLife Flight Paramedic Nestor
“Rico” Rivera, SRMC Emergency Services
Medical Director Dr. Will McCammon, AirLife
Flight Nurse Morgan Britt, SeHealth Chief
Nursing Officer Renae Taylor, SeHealth
Emergency Services Director Sonja Hilburn, and
Air Methods pilot Terry Stuthridge.

By Roxana Ross

New helicopter base saves 40 minutes for

critical patients

Southeastern Health staff are excited about the opening of get a flight sent, it’s probably a 40-minute savings. Com-
a new AirLife North Carolina base at the Lumberton Res- paratively, it’s going to take five minutes to get an ambu-
cue Squad. The new base means emergency and trauma lance over here from the hospital.”
patients who need to be airlifted will no longer have to
wait for a helicopter to fly into Lumberton for transport, Dr. Will McCammon, medical director of the emergency
because one will be stationed in the city. room at Southeastern Regional Medical Center, said this is
fantastic news for patients.
Air Life is a division of Air Methods, one of the largest
community-based providers of air medical services. Sev- “Now that Air Methods has selected this as one of their
eral emergency room and patient movement staff members bases, we’re pleased to have them,” Dr. McCammon said.
recently visited the facility to get a look at the new helicop- “We have a high acuity base of patients that come to the
ter and meet some of the AirLife staff. hospital, and this is an expedited transport for patients re-
quiring critical interventions at other hospitals. Not having
“This gives quicker access for our critical patients to be to coordinate with outside agencies because we now have a
flown out because it’s sitting right here,” said Southeastern transport team within blocks of the hospital can make that
Health Chief Nursing Officer Renae Taylor. “It’s a 30-min- timeframe much shorter to get the patients the services they
ute flight from Duke. When you factor in calling over to need much faster.”

Page 20 Robeson Living ~ Fall 2019