They are ready, 24 hours a day, to take flight in a moment's notice in pursuit of everything from car accident victims to women giving birth.
Racking up more than 2,000 flights a year, UNM's Lifeguard service is arguably one of the busiest and most relied on medical transportation programs in the country, said Monte Gallegos, the service's chief flight paramedic.
Started from humble beginnings more than 20 years ago, Gallegos said the Lifeguard service was conceived to help UNM Hospital earn a trauma center designation.
Since then the program has grown in leaps and bounds, he said, now including four fixed-wing airplanes and two helicopters, which are used to transport medical patients to hospitals from every remote corner of the state.
"New Mexico is a large state with many rural areas that lack the resources to handle many types of patients," Gallegos said. "Our ability to quickly get people to a place that can treat them properly dramatically improves their condition."
There are 21 full-time flight nurses and paramedics who serve as medical flight crews at the Lifeguard's staging area at Seven-Bar Aviation near the Sunport. There are nine more who work at the Taos base which was created late last year, Gallegos said.
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"We have both paramedics and nurses that allows us to carry a wider variety of medications than in traditional ambulances," he said. "We designed the program to give us the ability to have a big impact on the outcome of often serious medical situations."
New Mexico's uniquely rugged landscape oftentimes makes it difficult to treat patients within the "Golden Hour," the first 60 minutes of any accident that can mean the difference between life and death for many patients, said Debbie Pacheco, one of Lifeguard's flight nurses.
"We play an important role in getting patients the care they need as quickly as possible," she said. "It's hard to say just how many lives have been saved because of this program."
The Lifeguard's helicopters have a range of about 150 miles, and the fixed-wing airplanes have the ability to travel the length of the state and can transport patients as far as eastern Arizona and southeastern Utah, Pacheco said.
The program has not been without its share of problems, though.
One of the Lifeguard's helicopters crashed in 1985 while attempting to transport a patient through a storm near Taos, killing the pilot, paramedic and flight nurse on board.
Just recently, a mechanical problem in one of the airplanes caused it to crash while landing on its way back from a call. No one was seriously injured in the accident.
"Our job is not without its share of danger," Pacheco said. "But we all accept those risks in order to help out people whose lives are in danger."
Lifeguard crews keep their skills sharp by attending more than 100 hours of continuing education every year, said Mike Torres, who has served as a Lifeguard flight nurse for 19 years.
The University also recently held a fund-raiser for the program to purchase a state-of-the-art radio dispatch system, and the flight crews plan on beginning training with night vision goggles within the month to expand their range into night flights.
"We are doing everything we can to provide the people of New Mexico the best medical care possible," Torres said.
