RUMFORD – A LifeFlight of Maine helicopter landed on Rumford Hospital’s helipad in the wee hours of July 18 to transport the 100th patient from the hospital since the program began in 1999.

For the first two years of LifeFlight’s operation, the critical care helicopters landed in various open spots in Rumford, and ground ambulances transported patients between the hospital and the helicopter.

“We have seen people of a wide variety of ages and problems transferred to specialty hospitals – usually Central Maine Medical Center,” said Diane York, nurse manager of the Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency Department at Rumford Hospital. “The majority of LifeFlight transfer patients come from these two departments.”

A young man suffering a heart attack, a burn victim, a woman with multiple fractures from an auto accident, many people have been helped by critical care helicopter service.

In April of 2000 Casey Saisi, 2 1/2, was having difficulty breathing at Rumford Hospital. The physician on duty determined she needed to see a specialists immediately, so LifeFlight was called.

Now diagnosed with autism, Casey was, and is, highly resistant to strangers and examinations. “Then we didn’t know why, but we knew they had to be careful in treating her,” said Casey’s mother, Melissa Fallon. In an unusual move, the LifeFlight critical care nurse and paramedic decided they would transport Fallon along with her daughter.

Fallon was placed on a gurney with Casey on her chest and they were strapped down together for the ground ambulance ride to Route 2.

“The LifeFlight crew was pretty great,” said Fallon. “They talked to me, made me comfortable.” The crew also let the providers at Central Maine Medical Center know that Casey had special needs.

Joseph Hall was also transported from Route 2. His wife, Becky, a nurse manager at Rumford Hospital, is sure the LifeFlight transport made the difference for her husband. “His doctor says there is no permanent damage,” she said. “If he hadn’t been flown to Portland for emergency cardiac catheterization, he certainly wouldn’t be living the life he’s living today.” Hall is a forester and, because he was treated so quickly, he’s still “hiking up mountains on snowshoes,” said his wife.

Since the helipad was built in 2001 adjacent to the hospital parking lot, patients have not had to endure the transfers, and the time from Rumford Hospital to their destination has been shortened. The helipad was constructed with time, machinery and materials donated by companies and individuals in the greater Rumford community.

The Rev. George Goudreau, a retired Catholic priest, was one of the first flown from the helipad. He was having a heart attack when he appeared in the Emergency Department, and Physician Assistant David Saphier called LifeFlight.

“My doctors say I wouldn’t have made it by ground ambulance,” Goudreau said. His trip to Portland took 25 minutes despite the fact that LifeFlight helicopters must land at the airport and transfer patients to a ground ambulance there.

Since January of last year LifeFlight has averaged three transfers a month, although the statistics for individual months vary from six to no flights.

The critical care helicopter service does not replace ground ambulance services, but is used only in cases when a quick transfer to more complex care is essential. Although air transport costs more initially than ground transport, studies have shown it ultimately saves more money through shorter hospital stays and less need for rehabilitation services.