“This service is a substantial benefit to U.P. patients and their families,” said Robert Kroll, Clinical Director of Invasive Imaging Services at UPHS-Marquette. “Valley Med has been great to work with and it is evident they are dedicated to great patient care.

“We see mostly two types of patients being transported to our facility, heart attack and trauma. These are two types of patients most in need of advanced care quickly. That decreased travel time by air really makes a difference, especially with a heart attack. With an air ambulance, our services are much more accessible to places like Escanaba, Houghton and Manistique.”

Which means people in outlying areas have much reduced travel time to get to lifesaving medical care.

Conrad Mulford has been a lead pilot with Valley Med Flight for five years now and he not only loves what he does, but where he does it: in the Upper Peninsula.

a Valley Med Flight helicopter hovers near the landing pad at the hospital in Marquette. (Courtesy photo)

Based in Escanaba, Conrad flies his Valley Med helicopter to various points in the U.P. as needed, including bringing patients to UP Health System-Marquette.

“I am a transplant to the U.P. The rest of my crew is from here,” Conrad said. “I know the area now and I know the people and love both.

“I can tell you this is the best team I have ever worked with. They care so much about the community,” he said. “I want people to know that.”

Valley Med is centrally based in Escanaba.

“The majority of our patients go to Marquette,” Conrad said.

The crew does two types of transport. One brings patients from one facility to a higher level facility, for example, for treatment of cardiac issues.

The other type is when the crew is called to the scene of a trauma, such as a vehicle wreck or a construction accident. That’s where Negaunee native Josh Menard comes in as a flight nurse.

“I was working in an emergency room here when I heard they were starting a flight service. It was my dream to be a flight nurse,” Josh said. “When I left my job downstate, I didn’t think it would happen when I moved back up here, but I have been with (Valley Med) since it opened almost five years ago.”

Josh brought with him a great deal of experience, having worked in the emergency department at the University of Michigan hospital as well as being a paramedic for seven years. He’s both a registered nurse and a medic.

“This is a pretty incredible job,” Josh said. “Some days, I can’t believe I get paid to do it. I get to travel all over the U.P. and make a difference in people’s lives. We’re an extension of the local EMS crews, who do a great job.”

In the Upper Peninsula, Valley Med has fixed-wing aircraft in both Houghton and Iron Mountain that make runs as well. The company as a whole operates in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Jacob Smith, the program director for Valley Med Flight’s Upper Peninsula bases, said the fixed-wing planes are used to bring patients from one hospital to another.

“Say there’s a patient in the hospital at Manistique who needs to go to Marshfield. We get the call and go to the hospital in a plane to pick them up,” Jacob said.

The helicopter can do that if needed but also covers emergency situations.

“Our helicopter medivac is an extension of emergency services,” Jacob said. “Say the ground EMS crew gets a call. If they feel the situation is emergent, they call for us and we launch to the scene. The advantage is we get the patient directly to a trauma center, 99 percent of the time to UPHS-Marquette, and directly to the surgeon or other care that’s needed immediately.

“That’s really the service that makes the biggest impact in our area,” he said.

So for Delta, Alger, Schoolcraft, Luce as well as Dickinson and Menominee counties, the emergency trip to Marquette is quick.

“From most of those counties, we’re 20-25 minutes away from Marquette by air using the helicopter. It really makes the biggest change in the patient’s chance for survival.

“On the medical side, for strokes and heart attacks the patient is less than a half-hour away from the cath lab.”

Jacob said it’s important people understand just how well-equipped the helicopter is and how well-trained the crew is.

“It’s not a flying ambulance, it’s much more a flying intensive care unit,” he said. “We can provide a step above ground EMS. We carry more meds and our medical crew has the next level of training.”

The entire medical staff of Valley Med Flight in the U.P. is from the U.P. now.

“And most have worked in the hospital environment here already,” said Jacob, who’s a Channing native.

Valley Med’s employees follow the company’s mission statement: “It is our mission to safely and efficiently transport our patients, with the utmost care and respect, to a facility equipped to handle their medical needs. Our patients will receive the highest level of care possible using the most advanced equipment and protocols available. We are grateful for the honor to serve our community in this respect.”

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