ARCH Air Medical Service is commemorating an important milestone this week: 45 years of providing life-saving services across the bi-state region in critical situations.
“Sometimes a patient reminds you of someone that you know and love or it’s just the nature of the event that does get to you,” shared ARCH Medical pilot Mike Kerner.
Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ARCH Air Medical Service responds to urgent calls promptly when time is of the essence.
Kerner, a pilot with ARCH for six years, mentioned, “It gets pretty dirty. Not only just providing patient care, but also landing in the middle of nowhere like a muddy field or in the snow.”
“We work two 24-hour shifts per week, and then, at our base, we are available on-call until that call comes in,” stated flight nurse Danica Mainridge.
According to Mainridge, a flight crew can receive up to three calls per day. It can take up to four hours to fly, treat, and transport a patient. Additionally, a helicopter can transfer patients to hospitals with better treatment options.
“We are actually one of the early ones in the industry, in the country, for doing air medical, so it’s a long-standing tradition for both the country and the region,” shared flight nurse Chase Niewoehner, who also serves as a clinical base lead for the ARCH station in Granite City.
Niewoehner emphasized the importance of getting a patient to a medical center within a golden hour.
“That first hour after the injury is extremely important to get to an operating room to have a good chance of having the best possible outcome and surviving that critical injury,” he explained.
ARCH Air Medical Service celebrates 45 years of service.
