The Careflight air transport program at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center is celebrating its 25^th year in service. In honor of the occasion, Aug. 12 has been proclaimed “Careflight Day” in South Dakota by Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

Francie Miller, assistant vice president for Emergency Services at Avera McKennan, was instrumental in developing the Careflight program in 1986, and served as flight nurse on Careflight’s first flight. “We serve an area that’s largely rural. McKennan Hospital started Careflight because many of our most critical patients in outlying areas didn’t have the same access to critical care,” Miller said.

Careflight answers that need by getting patients to a tertiary care center quickly for life-saving treatment. “The Careflight helicopter and fixed wing aircraft are literally airborne Intensive Care Units, staffed by professionals highly trained in critical care,” Miller said. Careflight team members are specially trained to handle cases in trauma, obstetrics, pediatrics, medical/surgical care, burns, neurology and neonatology.

Careflight began with a helicopter aircraft, providing transport within a 125-mile radius of Sioux Falls from medical facilities or accident scenes. Fixed wing services were added in 1995 to fly at higher speeds and greater distances. The Careflight ambulance is used for ground transportation to and from the airport as an extension to Careflight’s fixed wing and rotor wing aircraft.

Having met stringent standards and criteria, Careflight is accredited by CAMTS, the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Services.

Avera McKennan updated to a new fixed-wing plane in 2008 and a new helicopter in 2009 in order to incorporate the latest in safety and critical care technology. Careflight averages 1,200 flights a year, with approximately 15 percent of those being flights to the scene of accidents and the other 85 percent transports from area hospitals.

Over the past 25 years, Careflight has traveled over 3.1 million miles on more than 17,700 flights.

“Careflight has been an extremely successful program over the past 25 years, and has been instrumental in saving many lives. Today’s Careflight program is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art medical transport technology as we continue this life-saving service which extends to the farthest corners of our region,” said Dr. David Kapaska, regional president and CEO of Avera McKennan.