Fort Morgan, Colo. (May 31, 2024) – On Friday, May 31, 2024, CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region celebrated the new Flight For Life® Colorado base out of St. Elizabeth Hospital in Fort Morgan, Colorado, with a dedication and blessing of the helicopter and crew of Lifeguard 6.
Joined by hospital and community leaders, the ceremony took place on the St. Elizabeth Hospital campus and was led by Program Director of Flight For Life® Colorado, Kathleen Mayer and St. Elizabeth Chief Executive Officer, Josh Neff.
“Two years ago, we stood here in a similar fashion to introduce CommonSpirit as a ministry to northeastern Colorado and vowed to take care of each and every person in the counties that we serve,” said Josh Neff, CEO for St. Elizabeth Hospital. “We promised to bring improved access and level of care to this part of the state and today we’re fulfilling that promise as we welcome Flight For Life® to this community.”
Flight For Life® currently operates out of Denver, Frisco, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Durango and now, Fort Morgan to transport patients to the most appropriate hospital, operating within the Colorado trauma system rules for trauma patients. In addition to general transport, Flight For Life® will also offer residents of Morgan and surrounding counties the following unique capabilities:
- Whole blood to transfuse for patients with hemorrhage
- Cardiac life-sustaining technology including Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA), intra-aortic balloon pumps, Impella ventricular assist device and ECMO heart and lung assist
- High-risk obstetrical care
- Pediatric critical care
“This is the first new base that Flight For Life® has had since the opening of our Durango base in 2011, 13 years ago,” said Kathleen Mayer, Program Director of Flight For Life® Colorado. “It’s time for our program to grow again and for us to be able to offer to nurses, paramedics, pilots and mechanics the extraordinary opportunity to come and work for Flight For Life®. We know in Fort Morgan there are patients that will need our skills and speed to be delivered quickly and safely to the care that they need. We’re proud to be able to provide this care to the residents of Fort Morgan and surrounding communities.”
Available 24 hours a day, Flight For Life® Colorado may be requested by a physician, hospital, ambulance service, fire department, law enforcement agency, ski patrol or search and rescue group. The helicopters operate within a 150-mile radius of Denver Metro, the central Rockies, and the regions surrounding Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Durango, northern New Mexico, southeastern Utah, and northeast Colorado.
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About CommonSpirit
CommonSpirit Health is a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 by Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. The Colorado/Kansas/Utah Division includes 20 hospitals, 240 physician practices and clinics, emergency and urgent care centers, home care and hospice services, and Flight For Life® Colorado. With its national office in Chicago and a team of over 175,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit operates 142 hospitals and more than 2,200 care sites across 24 states. In FY 2022, CommonSpirit had revenues of $33.9 billion and provided $4.9 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs. Learn more at www.commonspirit.org.
