HEALTH HINTS
FROM
THE
F L I G H T
C R EW
The Air Life team handles emergencies every day, but our crew
also has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to safety, minor
injuries and ailments. In this issue, our helicopter pilot, Ken
Cox, shares his knowledge on Dhver Fatigue.
Ken Cox, Helicopter Pilot
In 20 years as an EMS helicopter
pilot I have attended over 1,000 motor
vehicle accidents. In the early years,
alcohol seemed to play a major role in
about half of the accidents. However,
in recent years falling asleep at the
wheel has emerged as a significant
cause.
This shouldn’t surprise too many of us.
One out of three of us admits to having
fallen asleep at the wheel. However,
please note that during a typical two
and a half-second nap our vehicle
travels nearly the length of a football
field. That same nap causes 100,000
automobile accidents each year, kills
1,500 people, additionally injures
another 71,000 people, and costs
America 12.5 billion dollars.
Falling asleep at the wheel doesn’t
randomly happen to us. Some pattern
in our lifestyle, recent history or health
leads us to a situation where we tend
to fall asleep at the wheel.
Some of us burn the candle at both
ends, with too much work and too
much play. Many of us suffer from
sleep apnea, a condition that interferes
with our breathing during sleep hours.
For some of us, alcohol impairs our
ability to stay awake while driving
and makes us six times as likely to
fall asleep at the wheel. Other fatigue
factors include driving during the
normal hours of sleep, and driving
alone on a long, straight road.
We humans do some interesting things
in our attempts to stay awake at the
wheel. We sing to ourselves, slap and
pinch ourselves, stomp our feet, play
the radio loudly and open the windows.
However, when it gets to that point,
perhaps the time has come to listen to
the experts.
The experts tell us we should do the
following:
1. plan our trip to include rest stops
every two hours, and pick the rest
stops in advance;
2. expect to get sleepy after lunch, and
take a nap before driving again:
3. sleep at night and drive during the
day;
4. share the driving:
5. drink caffeine: and,
6. when we start doing things to stay
awake, we should stop the car in
a safe place and take a 20-minute
nap.
I sometimes stop for a 20-minute nap.
Twenty minutes added to my trip sees
me home uneventfully and it buys me
the rest of my life. To me, that seems
like a good deal.
Please welcome the
newest additions to
our Air Life family
Denny Garcia
Respiratory Therapist
An architectural rendering of the Eurocopter E C -145 and the planned hangar needed to house the aircraft.
Air Life seeks funds for new helicopter, hangar
For nearly 20 years. Air Life has come
to the aid of friends in need. Now it's
Air Life’s turn to ask for help.
substantial role in allowing Air Life to
continue serving communities in the
helicopter’s service area in the 150-mile
radius around Bend.
As the program's Bell 222UT has aged,
“In 20 years of service, we’ve only gone
parts have become more costly and
to the public twice for support — once
difficult to obtain, making it harder to
in 1987 to implement the
enforce the program's
membership program,
rigid safety standards.
and once in 1995 to
"We’ve spent the last
build the new helicopter
two years researching
flight-ops center,” Vern
the best aircraft to
added. “We need the
replace the Bell, and
community’s help to
all our research points
allow us to continue
to the Eurocopter EC-
serving them with the
145,” explained program
high standard of care
director Vern Bartley.
Air Life is known for."
“New helicopters are
Flight nurse Jim Mouser, maintenance
costly, and we’ve known
coordinator William Wilkinson, and
Acknowledging all
for some time that we’d
respiratory therapist Michele Moore recently
need to reach out to our
visited a flight program in Nashville. Tenn donations is a priority of
this campaign, and all
friends for help funding
to help develop the medical intehor for
donors
will be listed on a
the new aircraft.”
Air Life's new Eurocopter E C -145
wall plaque in the
Air Life hangar. In
As part of St. Charles
addition, donors making gifts of $1.000
Medical Center’s “Expanding the
and up will receive special recognition
Vision" Capital Campaign, Air Life has
plaques in our donor garden. All gifts
embarked on a major fund raising effort
are
tax deductible to the full extent of
to gather the $6.5 million needed to
the law.
purchase the helicopter and pay for
the necessary training, equipment and
Can you help? To make a contribution to
remodeling for the existing hangar.
our campaign, please call 1-800-353-0497
Charitable donations will play a
or visit our Web site al www.airlife.org
Philip Finch
Respiratory Therapist
A ir C u rren ts
Stqf/
Editor
Tawna Fenske
tfenske@scmc.org
(541) 617-2688
For more information about Air Life, contact:
Customer Service
airlife@scmc.org
1 -800-353-0497
Director
Vern Bartley
vbartley@scmc.org
Membership
Coordinator
Wanda Grindstaff
wgrindst@scmc.org
or visit our Web site
at www.airlife.org
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( ammasKm < m N’crrétutm af Mediai Tnanpart Sesión
A ccredited since 2001
Publication Title
Air Currents
Issue Date
April 4. 2005
Statement of Frequency
Three times per year
Authorized Organization s Name and Address
Air Life of Oregon
2500 NE NefT Rd
Bend. OR 97701
(5 4 1) 385 6305
1 -800 353-0497