ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 21, 1996 TAG: 9607220085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER note: below
Life-Guard 10.
To most of us, it's a familiar image. We have heard it flying above our homes. We have seen it on the 6 o'clock news. Maybe we know someone who has needed its services.
But what goes on beyond the dramatic news footage?
What's the story behind the familiar image?
In its 15 years, Life-Guard 10 has transported more than 6,500 people in Southwest Virginia, from the very old to the newly born, most of them in dire need of medical attention.
Today's Extra takes you inside Life-Guard 10 for an in-depth look at one of its flights. A flight that began on a beautiful Friday afternoon when a man pulled his car in front of a pickup truck in Bedford County. A flight typical of what Life-Guard 10 encounters almost every day.
Life-Guard flights are complicated endeavors, involving a cooperative effort that reaches far beyond the confines of a small helicopter.
They involve quick action by rescue workers in the field who know that Life-Guard can save precious minutes in getting a critically injured person to the hospital.
They involve swift response by the pilot, paramedic and flight nurse that make up the Life-Guard crew.
They involve sophisticated communication among the helicopter, the hospital, air traffic control, and rescue workers on the ground.
They involve sometimes tricky landings in fields and roadways.
And they involve a large degree of uncertainty.
Will Life-Guard get there in time? What will the crew find once it arrives? Will there be one patient or four patients? Children or adults?
And then there is the ultimate question.
What will be the final outcome from all this effort: a life saved, or heartbreak?
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY Staff Life-Guard 10 lands near an accidentby CNBscene in Montgomery County last week. color.