by Rhian Hibner
Daily Lobo
Most people get on an airplane once or twice a year.
Usually, it's to visit friends and relatives or take a vacation.
However, the staff of UNM Hospital's Lifeguard is expected to fly every day.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
And the nurses and paramedics in Lifeguard don't just sit on the airplane and wait for flights to be over.
They are responsible for keeping the critically ill alive while being transported to Albuquerque en route to UNM Hospital.
Patients often have to be brought to UNM Hospital from other parts of the state because it is the only level one trauma center in New Mexico, equipped to handle the most severe trauma cases, the chief flight nurse for
Lifeguard said.
"All the tertiary care for New Mexico is centralized here in Albuquerque," Kevin Schitoskey said. "So, if they need a cardiac ICU and they're sitting in Santa Rosa, obviously they're going to need to come here."
The service averages 50 to 60 flights a month, Schitoskey said.
Lifeguard's services aren't limited to New Mexico, he said.
He said the crew regularly flies into Texas, Arizona and southern Colorado, with an occasional flight to Los Angeles.
The staff is made up of some of the most experienced nurses and paramedics in New Mexico, Schitoskey said.
"Our average nurse experience is around 19 years," he said. "Our average paramedic experience right now is around 17 years."
Air ambulance services has one of the lowest turnover rates in emergency medicine, and Lifeguard hasn't had a full-time opening in two years, he said.
Student Amanda Tapp has been learning from the staff of Lifeguard over the past year.
Tapp is studying nursing, and she's a victim of what the staff refers to as Third Rider Syndrome.
A third rider is an additional person present on the flight as an observer, Tapp said.
Because the slow days often seem to coincide with the presence of a third rider, the phrase has stuck, she said.
"This is probably the fifth time I've been here, and I've flown once," Tapp said.
She said it doesn't bother her too much.
Even with only one flight, Tapp said she learned how to intubate and use a ventilator.
Schitosky said emergency flights get priority from air traffic control, and Lifeguard's relatively small planes get to land before larger aircraft.
Lifeguard uses a pair of Beechcraft King Air E-90s to bring patients to Albuquerque.
The E-90s are like mobile emergency rooms, equipped with portable versions of the equipment used in the ER at UNM Hospital, Schitoskey said.
He said Lifeguard used to have a Learjet, but opted to get rid of it because it cost $20,000 a month to operate.
The monthly cost of flying the two E-90s is much less than the Learjet, Schitoskey said.
Schitoskey said that Lifeguard drastically cuts transport times compared to the time it takes to move patients by ground.
It takes four hours to drive to Clovis, but Lifeguard makes the trip in an hour.
Tapp said Lifeguard staff members are trustworthy.
"They're good people to trust if you're ever in a situation where you need a flight," she said.
