In a presentation to the Springfield Rotary, Angel Flight East Outreach and Events Director Jessica Ames offered information on the non-profit service based in Pennsylvania, and recognized Springfield Rotary member Scott Miller as the organization’s Pilot of the Year.
Miller is one of about 400 registered volunteer pilots of Angel Flight East who use their own aircraft to provide free air transportation far from home when needed for those requiring medical treatment and procedures not available to them locally. Volunteer pilots donate their personal time and absorb all of the expenses associated with the flight to enable patients to receive the care they need.
Miller is one of Angel Flight East’s most frequent flyers. He joined the organization about five years ago.
“I went to a fly-in and learned about these programs through casual conversation with some other pilots,” Miller said. “I came home and looked into it and found out about Angel Flight East and signed up. I like to fly a lot. I own my own business, so I have flexible hours. I try to do a couple a month. I’ll probably keep doing it as long as I have an airplane.”
Pilots have to meet standards beyond basic flight testing to qualify to fly on medical missions. Angel Flight East requires at least 300 hours of logged flight time, far beyond the 60 hours to qualify for a pilot’s license. Additional physical qualifications and a minimum of four seats on the plane are also prerequisites.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Passions paired perfectly
“Pilots love to fly,” Ames said in explaining why pilots choose to volunteer with Angel Flight East. “It is really their passion and their hobby. It pairs perfectly. It’s really putting their passion with a purpose in helping someone who might not otherwise be able to get to that treatment if it wasn’t for an Angel Flight organization.”
According to Ames, Angel Flight East provides services in the northeastern corridor of the U.S., stretching north to Maine, south to Virginia, east to the Atlantic coast and west to the Ohio/Indiana border. It is one of over 60 volunteer pilot organizations across the country that work together to assure patients in need are able to travel to receive care.
Started in 1992, the founder of Angel Flight East wanted to help with relief efforts following Hurricane Andrew. In 1993 Angel Flight East logged 17 flights during the first full year of operation. Now Angel Flight East provides over 1,000 flights annually.
All of Angel Flight East’s flights originate from small air fields. Ames said it makes it easier for patients and their families and noted many of the patients they fly are immuno-compromised, so they are not permitted to be around large groups of strangers that are ever-present at large commercial airports.
To qualify for Angel Flight East services, passengers must be medically stable, ambulatory, and able to sit upright for the duration of the flight. Patients must have a compelling need and a medical approval form signed by their doctor. Once all necessary paperwork is filled out and approved, mission coordinators begin looking for pilots. Typically, a 5-7 day notice is required to schedule a flight.
“We used to have a financial need qualification,” Ames said, “but we removed that because even if someone is very well off financially, if they have to travel on a repeat basis and medical bills start adding up, the costs of hotels, gas and food add up while they are traveling, and it can become an economic burden.”
Most Angel Flight patients require air transportation multiple times, often over several years for treatment of and follow-up for medical conditions that can include cancer, organ transplantation, ongoing burn treatment, specialized surgical procedures, and other medical issues that must be addressed far from home.
Requests come from social workers, physicians, and other health care professionals who are in a position to verify both a passenger’s financial need and medical suitability to fly.
Donations help program
The Angel Flight East staff consists of four full-time and two part-time employees, so making presentations such as to the Rotary Club helps spread the word about the availability of the service. The administrative costs are funded primarily through donations.
“We rely on advocates to share information about what we do, whether it’s our pilots or other volunteers who put out brochures at medical facilities or libraries. It’s extremely helpful,” Ames said. “And we always welcome new pilots to join us so we don’t have to call upon the same people over and over again.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Angel Flight East was forced to suspend patient flights, according to Ames. One of the Ohio pilots reached out to suggest the group temporarily redirect service to the delivery of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that was in such short supply.
“We got an education in supply chain management as we searched for face shields, surgical gowns and gloves. We transported all of those to rural hospitals across the east coast, delivering about 200,000 pieces of PPE to 90 medical facilities,” Ames said.
“Angel Flight East is successful because of our dedicated volunteers,” Ames said as she invited Miller to the podium to talk about his experience with one of his favorite passengers.
He talked about one young patient he and his wife, Jen, became close with.
“His parents were the same age as my daughter,” Miller said. “Aiden had a very rare cancer, is blind in one eye and has a hearing deficiency. The good news is, though, he’s almost four and he’s cancer free.”
Miller said the original transportation plan for Aiden involved a connecting flight. “But we found out real quick that the take-off and landing were not good for a little kid. So we started flying non-stop. But he’s a good success story. They are working on his eye right now. They will be going to a specialist in May. He’s cancer-free not because we flew him, but because of the doctors and specialists had treatment that worked.”
But of course he might never have received treatment without the pilots of Angel Flight East.
Ames said pilots and families they serve sometimes become so close the pilots will change around their whole schedule to make sure they can be the one to provide a needed flight every time.
“It’s obvious pilots are the heart and the core of our organization,” Ames said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
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