Angels of Mercy

PHOTOS AND TEXT BY MAX DOLBERG

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT trains for fires. We train for airways,” says 33-year-old flight medic Mark Thomas. Thomas is holding a fiber-optic laryngoscope, one of the many tools used to establish an airway in patients who can’t breathe for themselves. It’s the start of another 24-hour shift, and every piece of medical equipment on Mercy Air’s MD Explorer 902 helicopter is being unpacked, inspected and repacked. Supply expiration dates are checked, narcotics are counted, compressed oxygen is replenished. At the same time, pilot Buzz Mills and mechanic Sheik Ameen go over every inch of the aircraft to ensure flight readiness.

After the compulsory inspections are done, the waiting game begins. Dispatch calls come in to Mercy Air’s office/crew quarters at Palomar-McClellan Airport on a white telephone. Once a launch order is received, the crew——consisting of a pilot, flight paramedic and flight nurse——has five minutes to get in the air. Their destination might be given in GPS coordinates, on a Thomas Brothers map grid or, sometimes, merely a heading and distance. Hovering above the general area, they locate the scene visually. From 1,500 feet in the air, cars look like Hot Wheels, and identifying an incident isn’t as easy as it would seem, even for those familiar with a bird’s-eye view of the world.

Landing can be one of the biggest challenges for the Mercy Air crew. Landing zones can be beaches, fields, pastures, sand dunes, mountain-tops, parking lots or the middle of a freeway. Power lines are a constant hazard. When landing on dirt or sand, an amazing amount of dust and debris is kicked up by the rotor wash, often reducing visibility to zero. First responders on the ground are trained to scout suitable landing zones for the helicopter, but the pilot and crew often must make split-second decisions concerning landing sites.

As San Diego’s roads and highways have become more congested, Mercy Air has seen its number of calls go up. A patient injured in Oceanside could easily face a travel time of 45 minutes or more by ground ambulance to the designated trauma center at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla. By air, it takes only 12 minutes. Several fire departments have made it a standard procedure to call for air transport to keep ground ambulances available.

Once the patient is stabilized and the helicopter is back in the air, the medical crew works to keep him or her alive and as comfortable as possible. Essentially a flying ambulance, the Mercy Air copter is equipped with oxygen, suction, defibrillator and all manner of lifesaving equipment and supplies, as well as a registered nurse who can administer sedatives and painkillers. The cramped quarters can still accommodate CPR and emergency procedures such as intubations, defibrillation and heart-rate pacing.

One thing that’s striking about the Mercy Air team is how much they all love their jobs. The medical crews could earn higher pay working at hospitals or trauma centers. Most work a second job to supplement their incomes. It’s their love of the job and pride in knowing they are elite that keeps them going. The pilots are mostly retired military. Working at Mercy Air keeps them flying.

Comfort can be found in the knowledge that when your life is on the line, and time is of the essence, your care and transportation are in such capable hands.

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