Madison Memorial celebrates first helicopter stationed at hospital
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REXBURG — Madison Memorial Hospital held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday for a new helicopter that will be stationed there.
The hospital is now an air base for Intermountain Flight and Ambulance Services, which has over 20 air bases in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, according to Intermountain Health’s website.
Kevin McEwan, chief nursing officer at Madisonhealth, said the helicopter will enhance emergency response capabilities across Rexburg, Madison County and surrounding rural communities.
“You know our community, we like to play, and people get in trouble up in the mountains and on the sand dunes,” McEwan said. “And we have about a million visitors that go to Yellowstone.”
McEwan explained that while patients could previously be flown out of the hospital, helicopters had to first fly in from other air bases.
“This gives us a chopper that’s located here,” McEwan said. “So if we have urgent things that need to leave our hospital to get to EIRMC — the trauma center — or to Huntsman, University of Utah, or Intermountain Healthcare, they don’t have to come to us.”
McEwan said the new helicopter can fit one patient and a crew of four — a pilot, a paramedic, a nurse, and a technical crew member who ensures the helicopter stays in good condition. These four will be rotating crew members from a pool of about 18 to 20 people.
Clay Prince, the hospital’s chief medical officer, spoke during Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting. He said a recent experience he had has made him thankful for how quickly local services can respond.
Prince said he was recently vacationing in the United Kingdom, and he came across an older woman bleeding from her head. As he called emergency services, he said he was put on hold and was told an ambulance would be 90 minutes out if they could send one at all. He couldn’t help but see the contrast with the new helicopter.
“We’re able to know that we can call 911 and someone is coming, and they’re coming fast,” Prince said. “And they’re coming with great expertise.”
