Southern Nevada medevac company can immediately treat patients with first responder status

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Medevac crews are essential when it comes to responding to emergencies.

From the time the call comes in to when they land, every second counts.

FOX5 was able to get an inside look at how Mercy Air, which serves Southern Nevada, now has first responder status. This means they can start to treat patients as soon as they land.

Before, it was the ground units such as police or fire officials who would tell Mercy Air when and where to land.

Now that the medevac company has received their first responder status, pilot Kelly Gonzalez can make the call himself as long as it’s safe.

“Obviously in the Las Vegas area there are lot of rural areas that are not accessible to a car. With all the off-road vehicles and horses, people get hurt remotely. We can be there in minutes where it can take a ground-based unit hours,” Gonzales said.

Once they are on the ground, their new status allows the medical crew to get to work.

Flight paramedic Anthony Brebbia and flight nurse Leah Langholz are able to start helping the patient right away even if EMS is not on scene, this is something they could not do before.

“It could be sometimes 10-15 minutes. One of the biggest things we have been asking the fire department to do is call early,” Brebbia said. “A lot of times we beat them to the scene and we have to circle to wait for them.”

Brebbia said getting airway and blood to a patient as fast as possible is crucial.

Once the patient is onboard, the crew tells FOX5 they are used to the turbulence when working on a patient and making sure their hands are steady.

Most times, the seat next to the pilot stays empty unless a child is being transported and a parent comes along.

The pilot will have the parent wear a headset and isolate their sound so they do not hear what is going on in the back of the plane.

This allows the medical crew to focus on the patient and allows Gonzales to focus on the skies.

“Everything is happening so fast, we don’t have time to be worried about what’s happening in the back. They are doing their job, I’m doing mine,” Gonzales said.

Each crew member of Mercy Air had to go through eight hours of additional training to get that first responder status and were given a test afterward.

Each crew member on board also needs to have at least three years of emergency response experience before they can take their skills to the skies.

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