NORTH BEND -- Covered in large brown bruises, ATV rider Jessica Hunter squealed as emergency responders gently pressed her limbs and ribs to check for broken bones.
They called for an Emergency Airlift helicopter to take her to a nearby hospital, rolled her onto a body board, and eventually loaded her into the blue and green chopper.
Hunter could hardly suppress a smile.
'I couldn't stop laughing," Hunter said after EMTs and flight nurses helped load her into the helicopter.
While an ATV rollover normally is no laughing matter, Hunter was only playing the part of a victim for a training scenario Saturday during Emergency Airlift Services' first open house and training day at the former Southwest Oregon Regional Airport Horizon terminal.
The company took over the space for its headquarters nearly two years ago.
Training for real thing
Ed Langerveld, a pilot and CEO of Emergency Airlift Services and Ocean Air Aviation, said the day was intended to give partner agencies -- fire protection districts, law enforcement and other first responders -- a chance to work with the helicopters outside an emergency.
The company houses three helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft -- flying helicopters on the rainy, gray coast can be tricky -- in North Bend.
It also operates locations in Roseburg and Klamath Falls. Helicopters and airplanes are stationed at each base.
'They need that airplane up there to get them there fast," Langerveld said.
Shaving minutes
The North Bend location also contains several ambulances, donated by Bay Cities Ambulance, to help transport equipment when needed.
'Anything we can do the shave minutes," Langerveld said.
'That's our motto: Your life, our mission, minutes count."
Since its start in 2003, Emergency Airlift has transported more than 600 patients from the North Bend area, including accident victims, and cardiology patients.
Susan Schindler, a flight nurse for Emergency Airlift, said she hopes to hold more training sessions with emergency personnel. Representatives from Dora-Sitkum, Coquille, Hauser and North Bay fire departments and rural fire protection districts, Bay Cities Ambulance, Coos Forest Protective Association, Bay Area Hospital and some law enforcement attended.
Quick care
Schindler said the emergency airlifts are an important resource for the community because the flights can get people to the care they need up to hours faster than by ambulance.
A normally two-hour trip to Eugene can be completed in about 30 minutes.
'Then you can land at the hospital and there's no traffic," Schindler said with a laugh.
Without Emergency Airlift and its competitors, patients in Coos County might not get the care they need in time.
Following a pickup, she said patients are taken to Bay Area Hospital, where they may remain or be stabilized before being flown to a larger hospital.
Buy before fly
Many patients include those who need cardiologists, which are unavailable in the county, Schindler said. She added that about 3,000 people have signed up for memberships with Emergency Airlift, which gives them emergency flights for $35 per year.
Langerveld said patients who can't afford to pay for flights often are flown for free anyway.
'We're obviously not going to sit on the ground if someone is hurt or there's a problem," Langerveld said.
Search and rescue
Langerveld also is a member of California Oregon Search and Rescue, which was formed in 2007 to erase jurisdiction lines during search-and-rescue missions, said Klamath Falls County Sheriff Tim Evinger.
COSAR was created following the December 2006 search for James Kim. The man and his family became lost between Gold Beach and Grants Pass. He went to search for help but died in the process.
At the time, Evinger said, controversy arose over jurisdiction. He later wrote a report about the incident to determine how to do things better.
'We've now erased county and state lines on how to do search and rescue," he said.
It was originally founded with the help of seven counties, along with federal partners and private companies including Emergency Airlift. More have since joined.
'What we determined is that nobody has enough resources to accomplish a long-term mission on their own," Evinger said.
On Friday, he said the company and rescuers searched for a woman who got lost on Mount McLoughlin in the Oregon Cascades.
She was found Saturday morning.
