GREENFIELD — On critical and traumatic runs, firefighters and EMS crews with the Greenfield Fire Territory (GFT) often work with a medical helicopter crew to transport a patient in dire need.
Recently, crews from the GFT took advantage of some life-saving training on how best to deal with helicopter patient calls. The crews learned things like how to approach the helicopter, how to find the best place for a helicopter to land safely and more.
Luke Eichholtz, firefighter and public information officer for the GFT, said they have had several helicopter calls in the eastern part of the county due to long transport times. Knowing how to properly work with medical helicopter crews can make a difference when seconds matter for patients.
“This training was used to get us used to loading patients, learning about the helicopters and meeting crews so that when we are in these kind of chaotic situations and time is of the essence, we are better able to work with the crews in a safe way,” Eichholtz said.
Even for veteran firefighters like Eichholtz, patient transport via a helicopter can be dangerous for everyone if people don’t do their jobs correctly.
“I’d be lying if I said I was not nervous walking under those spinning blades,” Eichholtz said. “It’s a different experience, so after meeting the crew and hearing instructions from them, you have a better feel of where you can stand safely and how to protect the patient properly, so it was definitely a valuable training for our crews.”
Matthew Meyers is a flight nurse with StatFlight 5 out of Rushville and worked with the GFT crews on the training.
“We like doing these kinds of community outreach trainings,” Meyers said. “We reach out to small local volunteer fire departments and bigger departments like Greenfield and offer the training because it helps them and us.”
The StatFlight crews gave an orientation of the helicopter, showed all the medical supplies they bring to help patients, showed patient loading and unloading procedures as well as did a classroom session on safe landing zones and weather factors.
“We showed them the main reasons they would call us and how we can be of the most use for them,” Meyers said.
After the GFT crews went through a classroom session with StatFlight, they went outside and worked with an active helicopter.
“We wanted to give the crews the opportunity to get under a live rotor and practice loading the sled because it’s kind of hard to do with all noise and activity during a medical emergency,” Meyers said.
Meyers noted this type of training is key for real life-saving situations, which they deal with daily.
“It’s just like with anything. The more you do it the better you’re going to be,” Meyers said. “Practice makes perfect, so the more frequently we can do these trainings the better it’s going to be for crews and the community because the smoother we all come together the better it’s going to be for the patients.”
The StatFlight crew is an official PHI Air Medical Medevac and Air Ambulance Service contracted with Ascension Hospitals.
“We do transports to any of the major hospitals,” Meyers said. “Our job is picking up the severely injured or ill people. A lot of times it’s a timely thing where time is of the essence because they need a higher level of care.”
Meyers noted they carry more resources than a typical ambulance which makes them a flying ICU that can land at the side of a road with a critical care medical nurse and a flight paramedic.
“We carry whole blood for patients bleeding and a ventilator for people with respiratory issues,” Meyers said.
While bad weather kept all the GFT crews from getting a live chance to train with the helicopter, Meyers said they plan on doing more training sessions with the rest of the GFT shifts as soon as time allows.
Eichholtz felt like the training helped his shift and will help the other GFT crews be better prepared to help local residents who rely on first responders for the best care.
“This type of training is not something that we do often, so it’s pretty special when we get a chance to train on this,” Eichholtz said. “It boosted our ability to work with them in the future.”
Eichholtz noted crews from GFT worked at least four helicopter transports last year, so there hasn’t been a lot of real-time learning either, which is why the training is so important.
“The more they can get in and show us what they’re capable of doing, the more comfortable we’re going to be calling them when we really need them,” Eichholtz said. “We have a lot more confidence now knowing when to call them.”
Eichholtz said in most cases the decision to call a helicopter is left up to the head EMS paramedic specialist on the scene, but more experienced fire personnel and other first responders do weigh in on life-saving decisions.
