Volunteer pilot group gives patients a lift
18/12/14 23:35
Volunteer pilot group gives patients a lift
They're critically ill, short on money and even shorter on time. But many patients find solace – and a quick free ride to a specialty hospital – on the wings of Vital Flight. "The flight almost becomes part of the healing process," said Tom Powers, of Fort Lauderdale, chairman emeritus of the nonprofit group and a pilot who has flown almost 1,000 missions. "It helps them escape."
The only volunteer group of its kind based in South Florida, Vital Flight's 30 pilots use their own aircraft to fly patients to hospitals in Florida and beyond. The pilots also absorb all the costs, on average about $300 to $600 per flight.
The service generally is available to patients if commercial flights can't be arranged or aren't affordable. Last year, the organization flew more than 100 patients, mainly to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville and Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
It was a godsend for Vicky Scott, of Okeechobee, who needed treatment for stage 3 cancer, said her daughter Marlo Pitsirelos. Last week, the group's pilots flew Scott from her home, just north of Lake Okeechobee, to Tampa in 40 minutes.
Vital Flight pilot Michael Coviello flew Vicky Scott, center, and her daughter, Marlo Pitsirelos, to Tampa earlier this month. The 40 minute flight spared Scott, who is being treated for cancer, a lot of misery. (Courtesy Vital Flight)
"The three-hour drive from her home would have been absolutely miserable for her," Pitsirelos said. "They were 100 percent compassionate." Recently, Powers flew a two-old boy named Chance from his home in Arkansas to South Florida for follow-up treatment at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital. The child needed a five-organ transplant, the result of a birth defect.
"He was very happy boy, sleeping in the back of my plane with his mother," Powers said.
Most flights take less than two hours, an important factor for a patient dealing with the discomfort of chemotherapy, said Bruce Bromberg of Jupiter, a Vital pilot who flies a twin-engine Cessna 310. "Many of the patients have stage 3 or 4 cancer," he said. "We wait for them to receive treatment and then try to get them home before any of the ill effects set in."
But the group helps patients with an assortment of ailments. About two years ago, the volunteer pilots flew a South Florida woman to New York after she was told she might need a leg amputated, the result of bone disease. "She was in a metal brace with pins through her leg, which forced her leg straight out," Powers said. "She never could have flown on a commercial airline. Ultimately, they saved her leg."
Vital Flight also flies dozens of military veterans to the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center each year. Vital pilot David Knies recently flew a veteran who had lost 90 percent of his sight. "He acted as if life was over for him," said Knies, who owns a Cessna 210. "I then had the fortune of flying him home some nearly six weeks later. The new outlook on life that he seemed to have, it was really just an exciting experience to be a small part of."
Most people find Vital Flight by way of its website, Vitalflight.org, although the company has a small office at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, donated by Powers. Several other volunteer pilot organizations fly sick patients to hospitals at no cost, among them the larger and more established Angel Flight and Mercy Flight. All come under Air Care Alliance, an umbrella agency. "We link together to help people out," Powers said, adding that for pilots, "it's incredibly satisfying; it's a feeling you never forget."
Not to be confused with an air ambulance company, Vital offers patients no medical equipment other than oxygen, if needed, said Powers. He added that the patients must be ambulatory. Vital Flight pilots are particularly proud of "Special Kids Day," an annual event allowing sick children to take airplane rides and enjoy a festive atmosphere. The 2015 event will be held on April 11 at Signature Flight Support at Boca Raton Airport. To help stage the affair, Signature Flight Support, an aircraft service company, this month donated $5,000 to Vital Flight. "It's a great organization," said Garry Madolid, the company's station manager. "We all hope we never to be on one of their flights."
To request transportation on Vital Flight, visit: vitalflight.org
kkaye@tribpub.com or 561-243-6530.
Copyright © 2017, Sun Sentinel
They're critically ill, short on money and even shorter on time. But many patients find solace – and a quick free ride to a specialty hospital – on the wings of Vital Flight. "The flight almost becomes part of the healing process," said Tom Powers, of Fort Lauderdale, chairman emeritus of the nonprofit group and a pilot who has flown almost 1,000 missions. "It helps them escape."
The only volunteer group of its kind based in South Florida, Vital Flight's 30 pilots use their own aircraft to fly patients to hospitals in Florida and beyond. The pilots also absorb all the costs, on average about $300 to $600 per flight.
The service generally is available to patients if commercial flights can't be arranged or aren't affordable. Last year, the organization flew more than 100 patients, mainly to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville and Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
It was a godsend for Vicky Scott, of Okeechobee, who needed treatment for stage 3 cancer, said her daughter Marlo Pitsirelos. Last week, the group's pilots flew Scott from her home, just north of Lake Okeechobee, to Tampa in 40 minutes.
Vital Flight pilot Michael Coviello flew Vicky Scott, center, and her daughter, Marlo Pitsirelos, to Tampa earlier this month. The 40 minute flight spared Scott, who is being treated for cancer, a lot of misery. (Courtesy Vital Flight)
"The three-hour drive from her home would have been absolutely miserable for her," Pitsirelos said. "They were 100 percent compassionate." Recently, Powers flew a two-old boy named Chance from his home in Arkansas to South Florida for follow-up treatment at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital. The child needed a five-organ transplant, the result of a birth defect.
"He was very happy boy, sleeping in the back of my plane with his mother," Powers said.
Most flights take less than two hours, an important factor for a patient dealing with the discomfort of chemotherapy, said Bruce Bromberg of Jupiter, a Vital pilot who flies a twin-engine Cessna 310. "Many of the patients have stage 3 or 4 cancer," he said. "We wait for them to receive treatment and then try to get them home before any of the ill effects set in."
But the group helps patients with an assortment of ailments. About two years ago, the volunteer pilots flew a South Florida woman to New York after she was told she might need a leg amputated, the result of bone disease. "She was in a metal brace with pins through her leg, which forced her leg straight out," Powers said. "She never could have flown on a commercial airline. Ultimately, they saved her leg."
Vital Flight also flies dozens of military veterans to the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center each year. Vital pilot David Knies recently flew a veteran who had lost 90 percent of his sight. "He acted as if life was over for him," said Knies, who owns a Cessna 210. "I then had the fortune of flying him home some nearly six weeks later. The new outlook on life that he seemed to have, it was really just an exciting experience to be a small part of."
Most people find Vital Flight by way of its website, Vitalflight.org, although the company has a small office at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, donated by Powers. Several other volunteer pilot organizations fly sick patients to hospitals at no cost, among them the larger and more established Angel Flight and Mercy Flight. All come under Air Care Alliance, an umbrella agency. "We link together to help people out," Powers said, adding that for pilots, "it's incredibly satisfying; it's a feeling you never forget."
Not to be confused with an air ambulance company, Vital offers patients no medical equipment other than oxygen, if needed, said Powers. He added that the patients must be ambulatory. Vital Flight pilots are particularly proud of "Special Kids Day," an annual event allowing sick children to take airplane rides and enjoy a festive atmosphere. The 2015 event will be held on April 11 at Signature Flight Support at Boca Raton Airport. To help stage the affair, Signature Flight Support, an aircraft service company, this month donated $5,000 to Vital Flight. "It's a great organization," said Garry Madolid, the company's station manager. "We all hope we never to be on one of their flights."
To request transportation on Vital Flight, visit: vitalflight.org
kkaye@tribpub.com or 561-243-6530.
Copyright © 2017, Sun Sentinel