It is said that a group doesn’t necessarily constitute a team. At Mission Health, there are more than 12,000 of us who are far more than just a group of employees, we are a team, a family. We are people who strive together in various capacities in the common purpose of caring for the residents of the 18-county region we serve – and caring for each other in the process.

The meaning of team was further exemplified June 1 as the members of the Mission MAMA (Mountain Area Medical Airlift) team christened their new helicopter. Members of MAMA past and present came to welcome a new helicopter to the team, while pausing in solemn remembrance of the passing of their teammate Corey Pittman on May 30, 2016.

For 10 years, Pittman was a flight paramedic with the MAMA team, treating critically injured and ill patients in lifesaving flights to Mission Hospital. He unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack at only 41 years old.

As the team gathered, along with Pittman’s wife and family, those who spoke left not a dry eye in the crowd. Flight nurse Cecil Gregg remembered, “Corey used to say every day, ‘Is there anything I can do for you today?’” That seems to be the theme for the entire MAMA crew – what can they, and this new helicopter, do for you.

Johnny Grindstaff, Supervisor of Mission Air Medical, talked of the efforts it took to get this new helicopter and to have it done the way they wanted it.

“This has been a team effort for the past year in putting this helicopter together. The pilots, the mechanics, the flight nurses, the flight paramedics, the respiratory therapists, our leadership – this is the result of all of that teamwork and dedication,” said Grindstaff.

As the tail numbers were unveiled, #N135CP, Grindstaff explained their meaning: “The N indicates she is registered in the USA, the 135 is the type of aircraft and the CP stands for devotion, character and a servant attitude that we try to display every day.”

As the speeches wound down and the end of the ceremony drew near, the crowd seemed to be left with the feeling that it sure would be awesome to be a part of such a team, to be a member of this family.