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Mercy Flight to team up with Golisano Children's Hospital to airlift children in an emergency

Ellen Abbott
/
WRVO News

Pediatric specialists from Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse will start taking to the air this month if there is a seriously ill or injured child more than an hour from Syracuse. 

Mercy Flight Central has provided air medical services for adults in central New York and across the state for more than two decades. The non-profit is now teaming up with Golisano to include pediatric specialists on board. Upstate University Hospital interim CEO Robert Corona said it fills a gap.

"The demand continues to increase as more and more facilities seek the expertise of our tertiary and quaternary care institution. You have to get the kids here fast," said Corona.

Mercy Flight President Jeff Bartoski said choppers based in central New York will be used to pick up the pediatric crew on the hospital’s helipad, high above the city of Syracuse.

"About a four to five minute flight to get from our base in Marcellus to here, land very quickly, bring the crew on board, everybody knows what the mission is, and off we go to the hospital where we receive the patient,” said Bartoski.

These choppers are quicker. For example, taking six hours off a ground transport trip to and from Massena. But that's not all, according to Bartoski.

"The other thing is the level of care we provide. The level of care within a helicopter typically exceeds that of a ground ambulance," he said. "And when you bring aboard the team from Upstate as well, you are essentially bringing the hospital with you.”

Robert Newmyer, director of pediatric critical care transport, said volunteers are trained to be familiar with the intricacies of treating a patient at a high altitude. But it’s their expertise in treating infants and children that’s key.

"How we dose medicines ends up being based on weight, the medicines used, the size and type of equipment," said Newmyer. Even the software program into the ventilator that sits on the helicopter.  All those things are different than how you would approach an adult.”

Upstate averages 173 transports a year of children from as far north as the Canadian border down to northern Pennsylvania.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.