Exploring Air Medical Transport in the U.S.
Chapter 3: PEOPLE
The Faces of Air Medical Transport
People are what make this industry tick. Meet the individuals who have experience in all areas of air medical transport, and learn how this valuable community service has impacted their lives.
1. PATIENTS
Ben Hayes, LifeFlight of Maine Patient
Life was forever changed for Maine residents Ben and Erin Hayes in December of 2007. While attending a holiday party at a friend's house, Ben and his buddies decided to have a “polar plunge" into a nearby snowbank. When Ben took his turn, he landed face down, and didn't move. After his friends turned him over, he knew something was wrong, and told them to call an ambulance.
Ben was transported via ground ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, but the surgeon immediately recognized that he would need neurosurgery. “Two of his vertebrae were literally next to each other,” said Ben’s wife, Erin. Central Maine did not have the resources to perform the surgery, so Ben would need to be transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland, over 40 miles away. LifeFlight of Maine was immediately dispatched to the hospital. “When the flight crew walked in, everyone just stopped,” said Erin. “You have these people in their green suits walking through the hospital and you just knew they were in charge.”
“It was at that moment that I knew Ben was in good hands,” she said.
Ben is now a quadriplegic as a result of his accident, and doctors are still unsure about what caused his paralysis. Ben was fortunate enough to receive rehabilitation care from the Shepard Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Today he is in a wheelchair, but continues to work full time while he and his wife raise their daughter.
“Our house is directly in the path of the LifeFlight helicopter,” said Erin. “When they flew overhead it used to make me cry, but now I know they are on their way to help other people like they did for Ben.”
The Hayes Family: Erin, Ben, and their daughter
Molly Mann, LifeFlight of Maine Patient
Listen to Mann share her story here:
For Molly Mann, skiing was always a part of life. Throughout Middle School, Molly was a ski racer, and traveled all over New England to attend races. But things changed in January of 2012, when at 13, she suffered a horrific crash at Sunday River where she was free-skiing before a race.
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Mann tumbled down a 25-foot ravine, and was unconscious at the bottom for roughly an hour and a half before help arrived. Mann was taken by LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center where she learned that she had a broken wrist, broken fingers, a broken clavicle, a concussion, and a ruptured ear-drum.
But she was lucky.
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After two weeks in the hospital, her hearing loss in her right ear was the only lasting effect of her accident. She participated in a school musical a month after returning from the hospital, and spent her summer at camp in Colorado climbing mountains.
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Today, Mann is a sophomore at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She is a neuroscience major on a pre-med track, and continues to ski with friends, but has since quit racing.
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Over the years, Mann has also written about her experiences, and was driven to give back to the people who helped save her life. She has been featured in a number of LifeFlight of Maine publications, and organized a service trip for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital where she spent time recovering as a patient.
Left: Mann (left) with a friend before a race in 2012.
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Top: Mann on the day she would be released from the hospital.
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Bottom: The cards and notes that Mann received from family and friends after her accident, which she has kept to this day.
Read more patient stories from LifeFlight of Maine here
2. PILOTS
Alek Jadkowski, Helicopter Pilot, LifeFlight of Maine
Listen to Jadkowski talk about the most rewarding part of his job:
Alek Jadkowski always knew he wanted to fly. As a young kid growing up in Maine, Jadkowski attended an aviation camp that brought him to LifeFlight of Maine. He got to meet the pilots and see the helicopter, and never seemed to forget the experience.
After high school, Jadkowski flew helicopters in the Army for eight years, and eventually did some air medical flying in Georgia. But something was still missing; he decided to go back to school at Vermont Technical College for his Bachelor’s degree in Professional Pilot Technology. After working as an aerospace engineer for a few years, he knew it was time to get back in the cockpit.
Jadkowski’s search eventually brought him back to LifeFlight of Maine, and in 2017, he joined the Life Flight fleet as a pilot at their base in Sanford, Maine. Currently, Jadkowski also works as a flight instructor for the Vermont Flight Academy, and has amassed over 2,700 hours of flight time during his 12-year career. He currently lives in Bolton Valley, Vermont.
Dustin Smiley, Helicopter Pilot, LifeFlight of Maine
Listen to Smiley discuss his experience in the Navy:
Dustin Smiley grew up in a Navy family, and decided at a very young age that he would attend the Naval Academy to become a pilot. Smiley dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot, and was drawn to the F14, one of the Navy’s premiere jets. But when he arrived at the academy, he was selected for a helicopter position instead.
For a short time, Smiley was disappointed, and unsure about whether he wanted to fully pursue this direction. But after all his hard work, he realized he had to give the helicopter a shot. After his first flight he was hooked. His experiences with the Navy made him realize that work on a helicopter is always about helping people, and throughout his service he aided stranded vessels at sea.
Smiley eventually left the Navy to spend more time with his family, and they settled in Bangor in 2008. Although Smiley has only been flying for LifeFlight of Maine for about six months, he finds that the most rewarding part of his job is working with the medical crew. “They’re really good at what they do,” he said. “I think we do really great work, and we make sure we do it safely.”
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Learn more about LifeFlight of Maine here
Lt. John Axtell, U.S. Coast Guard
Over the course of his career, Lt. John Axtell has amassed over 5,000 flight hours. He began his experience in the Army, but didn’t start flying until he was appointed an officer for the H64 Apache Helicopter. After starting a family, things started to get tough, and Lt. Axtell realized he couldn’t be away from home for long periods of time.
“When you’re in the army, you’re deployed a lot, even when you’re in aviation,” he said. “A lot of the families with children were having issues with the father being away for 11 or 12 months at a time.” Axtell was tired of being away from his kids, and transferred to the Coast Guard after six years with the Army.
The Coast Guard only deploys for roughly two months at a time, and flight missions usually involve search and rescue, counter-drug operations, and fishery management. Lt. Axtell currently works as the Program Manager for the H65 Helicopter at the Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C. His position ensures that everything is in line to build the next aircraft. His team is currently working on the “Echo” model, which will feature a digital cockpit.
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3. FLIGHT NURSES
Adam Boise, Flight Nurse, North Country LifeFlight
Listen to Boise talk about his patients:
Adam Boise got into nursing “the back door way.” After attending the University of Vermont as an undergrad, Boise got involved with UVM rescue as a student. He originally came to UVM thinking cancer research was the route for him, but immediately fell in love with patient care. Nursing became the way to go. Boise received his Nurse Practitioner's degree from DePaul University in Chicago, and went on to receive his acute and critical care certification from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
As an undergrad on UVM rescue, Boise spent most of his time looking up to the flight crews that came in and out of the UVM Medical Center. He was impressed with their level of knowledge and specialized skills. After receiving his nursing degrees, Boise jumped on the opportunity to be up in the air.
Boise currently flies with North Country LifeFlight, a volunteer service operating out of Saranac Lake, New York, and has been with the organization for the past three and a half years.
Chuck Pandolph, Chief Flight Nurse, North Country LifeFlight
Listen to Pandolph talk about his volunteers:
Chuck Pandolph has been involved in medicine since 1972. He originally wanted to be a football coach, but along the way decided that emergency medicine was his calling. He began his work as a lab technician, and gradually made his way up through the ranks. Pandolph has experienced many facets of the medical field throughout his career, including positions in the Operating Room (OR), Emergency Room (ER), and Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He has experience with medical research, has worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), a paramedic, and currently holds a nursing degree.
Pandolph’s wealth of experience bred him well for his position as the Chief Flight Nurse for North Country LifeFlight where he began working full time in 1998. As the Chief Flight Nurse, Pandolph flies on almost all of the missions that North Country carries out, including interfacility transports, scene calls, and backcountry rescue. He works with a team of volunteer nurses and paramedics on the aircraft, and is one of only three paid employees at the organization.
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Learn more about North Country LifeFlight here
4. DONORS
Jane Roberts, LifeFlight of Maine Donor
Jane Sullivan Roberts is an active donor and fundraiser for LifeFlight of Maine. Roberts spends her winters in Washington D.C. with her husband and two children, but summers in Maine on the island of Port Clyde.
After a serious boating accident near their house, Roberts and her family saw LifeFlight of Maine rescue many injured people, and became inspired by their work. Because Port Clyde is located about an hour from the nearest hospital, it would have taken much longer for the injured people to get medical help had LifeFlight not been available.
Ever since then, Roberts and the rest of the community off the coast of Port Clyde have been active fundraisers for LifeFlight of Maine. They have seen the importance of air ambulances in rural parts of the country. Recently, the community of Port Clyde was able to raise enough money for LifeFlight to purchase a third helicopter.
Laurie Breslin, LifeFlight of Maine Donor
Laurie Breslin is the mother of Emma Thomas, one of the creators of this documentary. LifeFlight of Maine has always been a part of the Thomas family, and Breslin has been coming to Maine since she was 18 years old. Twelve years ago, Breslin's best friend from college bought a house on the remote island of Islesboro, just off the coast of Camden, Maine.
The island has about 500 winter residents, and the population nearly doubles in the summertime. It was there that Breslin discovered LifeFlight of Maine. She had a friend that had used the services and had become very involved with the organization.
Ever since learning about the service, Breslin has donated and helped bring awareness to civilian air ambulances in rural areas across Maine and the United States.