Mercy Hospital Joplin's MedFlight celebrated its 20th birthday today. MedFlight helicopters transport patients from rural areas to Joplin for faster emergency medical care. Dottie Bringle was manager of Mercy's trauma center when MedFlight started..and tells News Talk KZRG it took some convincing to start the service.
"Initially, it was like 'Ah, we don't want to spend that much money. We don't want to do this.' And then we got to really talking about how rural of an environment we live in and how important that is to our community. So the decision was made. We got a lot of the doctors on board, community members."
Among those honored at Monday's ceremony was Rod Landrum of Parsons, who was a MedFlight patient six years ago.
"My wife, my family, will always be grateful as I am to you for what you did for me on that fateful day. You changed my life. In other words, you saved my life."
"Initially, it was like 'Ah, we don't want to spend that much money. We don't want to do this.' And then we got to really talking about how rural of an environment we live in and how important that is to our community. So the decision was made. We got a lot of the doctors on board, community members."
Among those honored at Monday's ceremony was Rod Landrum of Parsons, who was a MedFlight patient six years ago.
"My wife, my family, will always be grateful as I am to you for what you did for me on that fateful day. You changed my life. In other words, you saved my life."
A MedFlight nurse tells News Talk KZRG they average 30 flights per month..or one per day.
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