Medical Helicopter Service Stationed at Hospital in N.D.

Oct. 29--A new medical helicopter service has landed in Dickinson, just three months after Spirit Lifeline pulled out of the area.

The Grand Forks-based Valley Med Flight began operating out of the new CHI St. Joseph's Health facility earlier this month.

Spirit Lifeline abruptly ended service in North Dakota in July after only a year in Dickinson, citing low utilization and low insurance reimbursement levels in the state.

Valley Med's parent company Air Medical Resource Group saw "a gap that needed to be served," paramedic Matt Van said.

"We knew quite a few people would be affected by Spirit shutting down," he said. "I don't think anyone knew Spirit was going."

Van and three other paramedics are now stationed at the new hospital, currently under construction and set to open in December. A hangar is scheduled to be built by next summer, evidence of the company's intentions to stay in the area long-term.

"It shows our commitment to the area, to grow in the community here and to keep spreading," Van said.

The company already serves the area from Williston, along with a fixed-wing base in Sidney, Mont., but resources are stretched, Van said. Valley Med will now be able to have a larger presence in the Dickinson area.

Valley Med's Eurocopter can fly from Dickinson to Bismarck in less than 40 minutes -- depending on wind and weather -- helping to get trauma patients the treatment they need in the so-called "Golden Hour," when survival rates are highest, Van said.

"There are a lot of ambulance services that'll be utilizing us in the southwest region of North Dakota," he said. "It takes the stress off of smaller hospitals. Fast has never been an option in this area, and now it is."

Lynn Hartman, Dickinson Ambulance Service administrative director, said that with the area's growing population, as well as emergency calls, there is "an increased space for air service" alongside ground ambulances.

"I think there's definitely a place for air medical in the EMS system, whether it's fixed-wing or helicopter," he said.

Patients requiring air response or air transfers are "really a small percentage" of calls, Hartman said. Ground transportation will continue to be the the primary emergency response, but services like Valley Med are there for when reduced transfer time can make a difference, he said.

"We've never had access to either helicopter or fixed wing," Hartman said. "It had to come from some other community, so I expect there's going to be some learning for all of us as we work with each other."

Valley Med has tentative plans to pitch a county-wide membership plan to Stark County Commissioners in the coming weeks, picking up where Spirit Lifeline left off in bidding for a community membership plan against Bismarck's Sanford AirMed. A meeting with both organizations was canceled after Spirit ended services, though Sanford AirMed announced plans to establish a fixed-wing base at Sanford Health in Dickinson shortly following Spirit's departure.

Stark County Commissioner Jay Elkin said he is grateful Valley Med is coming to the area.

"Any type of air flight service out of Dickinson would be welcome," he said. "It'd be ideal for this region, for Dickinson, Stark County, the whole southwest."

Discussions about countywide air transport membership were dropped after Spirit left, he said, but the possibility is still there.

"It's critical that we (are) able to provide whatever's needed when it come to emergency services, or at least help facilitate that," Elkin said.

Under membership, any medical air service would be covered by whatever a person's third-party insurance provider agrees to pay, with no substantial debt left over. Van said he isn't concerned about the same reimbursement issues that forced Spirit out earlier this year, adding that Valley Med is not as worried about volume but cares more about the need in the area.

Having the backing of Air Medical Resource Group "allows us to be stable," he said.

"As a corporation, we take care of each other," he added.

He said the company will be able to bid competitively for a countywide program, saying that it's a "win-win for everybody" regardless of how much the service is actually used. He estimated he and his fellow pilots will eventually respond to an average of one call a day.

Hartman expressed concern that a countywide membership would encourage unnecessary overuse of the flight service, but that if it's what elected officials decide the community needs, "then that's the system we need to support, and it needs to be used appropriately," he said.

A three-part emergency system -- consisting of ground ambulance, fixed-wing service and now Valley Med's helicopter service -- "might be exactly what the community needs and is willing to support," he said.

But Van said he wants Valley Med to become a part of the community and the region's health care services.

"We want to be a tool in all EMS systems' toolbox," he said. "If a hospital needs us, we will come. If ambulance needs us, we will come."

Faulx is a reporter for The Dickinson Press. Contact her at 701-456-1207.

Copyright 2014 - The Dickinson Press, N.D.