The
Nurses of
Bartlett Regional Hospital
Juneau, Alaska
During its early years in Alaska, Airlift
Northwest served patients from its base in Seattle. Crews
would fly north
when called—a system that added critical hours to the
time it took to transport a patient to advanced-level care.
That situation changed in 1994, when a plane was stationed
in Juneau and teams of Seattle nurses came up to provide
patient care. The move certainly enhanced service by cutting
transport time. Still, a group of nurses at Bartlett Regional
Hospital decided they could help build an even better system.
A dozen of them signed up to work with Airlift Northwest,
in addition to performing their regular hospital jobs. All
were committed to the Airlift Northwest mission and, most
particularly, to the vision of Dr. Michael Copass to provide “a
flying intensive care unit” for Alaska. In exchange
for staffing flights, they were able to learn new critical
care nursing skills that helped them in their hospital work.
Judy Cavanaugh, one of that early team of nurses, says they “felt
honored” to be part of the Airlift Northwest family.
(More
patient and partner stories here) |
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