Media Advisory: Flight For Life Colorado welcome, blessing, and aircraft tour on Aug 11

Members of the media are invited to attend a welcome and blessing ceremony for Flight For Life Colorado on Thursday, August 11, from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (agenda below).  The ceremony will take place at Mercy Regional Medical Center’s helipad, which is located near the walk-in entrance to the Emergency Department on the west side of the hospital.  

Flight For Life Colorado’s new base at Mercy Regional Medical Center will be operational on August 15.

Flight For Life Colorado, part of the Centura Health network, was the first hospital-based civilian emergency air ambulance program in the nation and has been in continuous service since its inception in 1972.  Throughout its 39-year history, Flight For Life has become the model for more than 300 air ambulance programs worldwide, and is still considered the leader in critical care transport, having logged more than 100,000 missions since 1972.  Including Durango, Flight For Life Colorado operates five hospital-based helicopters and three fixed-wing aircraft.  Thursday, August 11, 2011Agenda

 

1:00 – 1:15 pm	Gathering: Meet and greet, welcome the crew
1:15 – 1:20  pm	Welcome and intro comments- Mercy CEO Kirk Dignum
1:20 – 1:30 pm	Comments, Centura Health CEO Gary Campbell and Stacy Hewett, Flight For Life Colorado Durango base operations manager
1:35 – 1:45 pm	Aircraft and Crew Blessing, Diana McKenna, director, Department of Spiritual Care, and Mercy Chaplain Ken Downey
1:40 – 2:00 pm	Open access to helipad, aircraft tour / open house / crew Q&A

 

                                                                                *        *        *

 

About Mercy Regional Medical Center

Mercy Regional Medical Center is an 82-bed acute care hospital in Durango, Colorado.  As a non-profit hospital that is part of the Centura Health network, Mercy is committed to improving the health and wellness of the communities it serves in the Four Corners region. See www.mercydurango.org for more information.

 

About Centura Health

Centura Health is Colorado’s largest hospital and health care network and we are charting the course for the future of health care. Approximately 14,500 of the health care industry’s best and brightest, including more than 6,000 physician partners, deliver advanced care to more than half a million people each year, across 13 hospitals, seven senior living communities, medical clinics, affiliated partner hospitals, Flight For Life^® Colorado, and home care and hospice services. Our strength lies in our ability to offer a team of connected networks and shared resources to deliver accessible, reliable and cost-effective health care across the state. For information on Centura Health or any of the facilities in our network, please visit www.centura.org.