MARC Air Ambulance Takes Flight

An air rescue service newly based out of Sidney officially went into operation last week, and it didn't long to make its first run.

Medical Air Rescue Company (MARC) went "live," or able to carry patients, Saturday morning, and that evening carried its first patient.

MARC's local operation, in the works since January 2017, has spent the past few months setting up shop in Sidney. The company purchased two homes in Sidney, one for medical personnel, the other for pilots and ground crew, and has made arrangements for use of the Sidney Regional Medical Center helicopter pad and a hangar at the Sidney Airport.

MARC, based out of Rapid City, S.D., also has satellite operations in Valentine and Pine Ridge, S.D. The Sidney operation, said Sidney Base Manager Shannon Odiet, fulfills a need the air medical community has been looking at for several years.

"This was an underserved area," Odiet said. "There have been a lot of companies looking at Sidney for a long time."

Underserved means there is more demand for air ambulance transport services than there are services within the area. Over the years when the main local provider, which has been out of Scottsbluff, is busy with a call, other services, usually from the Front Range of Colorado, have been called in if a patient needed transport.

Having a service in Sidney can take a patient in need in a much shorter time to receive advanced care. In the case of a heart patient, there is a "Gold Standard" of 90 minutes (120 for a rural area) to get a patient to a catheter lab for treatment. MARC's flight time to Loveland is 55 minutes.

"That saves tissue in the heart," Odiet said.

In the last few week leading up to launch, MARC crews have been training with local fire departments and law enforcement. They've also been getting out in the communities, getting to know the towns, their people, and the general area. And training with each other. Crew members - five flight nurses, four flight paramedics and four pilots - have held regular training with their aircraft and procedures, training that had one purpose.

"It's all about the patient," said Flight Nurse Jennifer Arnold.

MARC crews are on 24 hours and off 24 (12 hour shifts for pilots), responding to flight needs with a Bell 407 helicopter with a flight nurse and flight paramedic ready to take care of patient needs. The 407 was chosen in part because of its capabilities, but also because it is the type of helicopter local responders are used to working with. MARC can also call in a fixed-wing aircraft when needed, which can operate in different weather conditions and has a greater range than the helicopter's 150 miles.

Odiet said MARC flights are not covered through the MedCare Network, a flight insurance coverage offered in the area, but said MARC costs, and charges are lower and readily covered through insurance. He did encourage anyone with MedCare coverage to keep it.