At all hours of the day or night, the Life Flight 3 team is just waiting for the call.
Based out of the Bluffton Airport, this airborne lifesaver comes packed with a flight nurse, a paramedic, and of course a pilot.
"We staff this base 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We're on call for the local area for any trauma-related accidents that may occur and then we also do interfacility transfers," said Aaron Antrim, Life Flight 3 Lead Pilot.
Their 12-hour shifts can be both mentally and physically taxing, but this team understands their focus and combined efforts can mean the difference between life and death.
"The teamwork aspect, it's really nice to be able to work with these crews. We're on 12-hour shifts together sometimes and it's almost like a family. We have a pretty intensive flight training orientation. We go from our mobile ICUs to working on the aircraft and then we also have to have advanced certifications," explained Jen Stickley, Life Flight 3 RN.
One of the biggest factors this team faces is the ever-changing Ohio weather. Antrim utilizes the National Weather Service's Flight Path Tool to pinpoint icing, turbulence, visibility, and ceiling heights that could affect the crew en route to an accident.
"It keeps us on our toes because we might get down to Columbus and the ceiling starts to come down and the visibility and we have to file what's called an IFR flight plan which is basically we are using the instruments in the helicopter to fly back," said Antrim.
Thankfully for us, the retired coastguard pilot's skill with the Agusta 109 Power Helicopter couldn't be put to better use.
