A Tragedy Averted Leads to Happy Reunion for CALSTAR Patient

2010
FALL
RotorWash
A Tragedy Averted Leads to Happy Reunion
for CALSTAR Patient and Crew
For Sarah Dorfmeister and her then4-year-old son, Taylor, it was pretty
much a typical early morning in
Santa Cruz on June 10, 2009. Sarah,
a pre-school teacher at Live Oak
Elementary School, was walking her
young son into the school shortly
after 8 a.m. Without warning, her
life – and her family’s lives – were
changed forever.
Sarah and Taylor were walking next
to a chain link fence that protected
the school’s property. In a flash, a
motorist lost control by hitting the
accelerator instead of the brakes and
went careening into the fence. A
large metal supporting pole came
crashing down on Sarah’s head,
causing major, life-threatening
injuries. Taylor, fortunately, was
less involved.
Several first responders arrived
within minutes, including
paramedics, local police officers and
The Dorfmeister family visited CALSTAR 5 in Salinas one year after Sarah and Taylor were flown.
California Highway Patrol officers.
Flight crews from CALSTAR 2
(Gilroy) and CALSTAR 5 (Salinas)
serious head injuries, including a skull fracture,” he recalled.
were dispatched immediately. Both mom and son were taken
With help from the ground EMS units, Seth and his partner,
by ambulance to the Dominican Hospital helipad in Santa
Flight Nurse Greg Dyer, gently loaded Mrs. Dorfmeister into the
Cruz where they could rendezvous with the two CALSTAR
helicopter and Pilot Sara Lynn Stearns set a course for Santa
helicopters.
Clara Valley Medical Center. They arrived there 11 minutes
after takeoff.
Veteran CALSTAR Flight Nurse Seth Rae knew Sarah was in a
critical state the minute he saw her. “Mrs. Dorfmeister had very
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Following Delays, CALSTAR Transports
First ‘Voyager Baby’
Following months of delays, CALSTAR’s Inter-facility
Transport Program completed its first infant transport using
the recently acquired Voyager isolette. “With this first successful
transport, we are now poised to serve as an integral part of
the movement of critically ill newborns via air transport
throughout Northern California,” said David Osuna, regional
director of inter-facility services.
Chief Flight Nurse Donna Cova, who has overseen the launch
of the new program, said that the delays were due to a
ventilator air flow issue that needed to be resolved before the
state-of-the-art isolette could be put into service. “We had
hoped to have started the program several months ago, but
there was no way we were going to get started without being
totally and absolutely prepared,” Cova said.
Two of CALSTAR’s partner hospitals lent their
bioengineering expertise, making the necessary adjustments
and thoroughly checking the unit to make sure it was
functioning properly. In mid-August, the Voyager was
cleared for use and the first infant was successfully
transported within the controlled and therapeutic
environment of the new isolette.
In July, the baby’s mother experienced premature labor
and was transported from a hospital in Eureka to UCSF
Children’s Hospital where her baby boy was delivered at 31
weeks. He stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
for approximately one month until his lungs matured to
the point that he was able to breathe on his own. Once he
developed the ability to suck from a bottle and no additional
complications were anticipated, CALSTAR was called to
transport him back to the facility in Eureka. His growth will
be monitored until he is deemed strong enough to go home,
however all indications are that he is doing very well.
CALSTAR would again like to thank all of our project
funders for making this specialty transport capability
available to requesting hospitals throughout our entire
service area. By extending another helping hand to our
tiniest patients, we can ensure that they will receive the best
possible start in life – something all of us deserve.
CALSTAR Flight
Nurse Jen Whalen
checks on the
Voyager’s first
passenger.
CALSTAR Flight Nurse
Awarded Air Force
Commendation Medal
Flight Nurse Tommy Ferguson, who works at CALSTAR 8 in
Vacaville, spends much of his time away from CALSTAR with
the U.S. Air Force Reserves at Travis Air Force Base. In June,
Ferguson returned from a six-month active deployment at a
little-known base called Camp Lemonnier. The outpost is a
United States expeditionary base situated at Djibouti-Ambouli
International Airport and home to the Combined Joint Task
Force – Horn of Africa of the U.S. Africa Command.
Flight Nurse Tommy Ferguson at CALSTAR 8 in Vacaville
Ferguson, who holds the rank of captain, earned the Air Force
Commendation Medal for outstanding achievement as an
aeromedical evacuation officer. The medal citation notes the
following:
gained experience as an ICU nurse. After two years, he went to
work as a transplant coordinator at Golden State Donor Services
in Sacramento. Then in 2000, he joined the U.S. Air Force
Reserves – a decision that changed his life dramatically.
“Captain Ferguson coordinated a mass casualty exercise,
revamping local patient transfer procedures from ships to the
local clinic; directed 24 flawless commercial air ambulance,
aeromedical evacuation and medical evacuation missions
resulting in the safe
transfer of 39 patients
to Germany for proper
medical care; coordinated
with higher headquarters
to redirect aeromedical
evacuations when
volcanic ash (which had
originated in Iceland)
grounded all flights over
Europe; and played a
key role in the timely
transfer of suspected
Somali pirates with
injuries from one aircraft
to another aircraft bound
for the continental United
States.”
Shortly after joining the reserves, Ferguson went to flight
school at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas and trained to be a
flight nurse. In 2003, he was deployed to Iraq to participate in
Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served on a C-130 based in Qatar,
where Ferguson and his team would go to various locations to
pick up wounded troops and take them to Kuwait or Iraq for
medical treatment.
Ferguson at Camp Lemonnier in
Djibouti
Ferguson, who grew up
in Fairfield, began his
distinguished military career as a combat medic in the U.S.
Army. “You do things as a medic in the military that you
wouldn’t be allowed to do in civilian life,” he said. “There
are times when you have to perform some fairly complicated
procedures to save a life.”
After his four-year stint in the Army was completed in 1994,
Ferguson earned a bachelor of science in nursing degree and
Ferguson’s next assignment landed him in Germany, where
he served on a flight crew that would pick up as many as
50 wounded soldiers, seamen, airmen or marines from Iraq
or Afghanistan and fly them back to Germany for extensive
medical care.
Upon returning to the U.S. in 2004, Ferguson spent two more
years in an ICU before taking a job as a senior transplant
coordinator at One Legacy in Los Angeles, the largest organ
procurement organization in the world. It was during his time
at One Legacy that he became aware of CALSTAR and knew that
was where he wanted to work. He joined the company in May
2008.
Following his recent deployment, Ferguson said that he is
enjoying his job enormously and believes he has found a
permanent home in terms of his professional career. He added
that he is very grateful to the company for its support during
his recent stint overseas. “I was told that if I needed anything
to just ask,” he said. “It’s very obvious that CALSTAR supports
men and women in uniform.”
As for his commendation, he tends to downplay the individual
honor in deference to the many dedicated individuals with
whom he has served. “I hate to be singled out,” he said. “It’s
simply an honor to serve my country.”
CALSTAR Thanks Community Funders, Supporters
The Monterey Peninsula
Foundation, host of the AT&T
Pebble Beach National ProAm, provided $35,000 in grant
funding to purchase and install
an automated weather observing
system (AWOS) at Mee Memorial
Hospital in King City. The
AWOS will provide up-to-theminute weather data to our
pilots, enhancing their ability
to use the precision guidance
helicopter approach that was
completed at the facility last year.
These improvements will enable
CALSTAR to safely respond to
more patient transport requests
during inclement weather.
Genentech contributed $5,000
and Jelly Belly Candy Company
The AWOS at Mee Memorial Hospital will enhance CALSTAR’s service in Monterey County.
provided $1,000 in matching
funds toward the purchase of
CALSTAR would also like to extend a special thank-you to Judy
a GlideScope Ranger video laryngoscope for CALSTAR 8
Bennett and the Bennett family for allowing us to use their
(Vacaville). The GlideScope Ranger will improve our first-pass
property in Foresthill as a designated EMS landing zone for our
success rate for field intubations, leading to improved medical
bases serving the Sierra Nevada region.
outcomes for Solano County patients.
Recent Hires
We would like to recognize and welcome the following CALSTAR
team members who were hired since our last publication:
Flight Nurses:
Billy-Jade Achiu, Rick Loonam, Jared Olson, Chantell Phillips,
Brandy Provencher, Micah Redmond
Pilots:
Greg Smith
Lead Aircraft Technician:
William Heppe II
Aircraft Technician:
Jason McGovern, David La Vacque
Communications Specialist:
Zachary Schneider
Inventory Clerk:
Vincent Kinney
Purchasing Clerk I:
Clarence Wilson III
Herm Weyland
We would like to thank and
recognize the following community
partners for their recent and
ongoing support:
›› continued from front page
A Tragedy Averted Leads to Happy Reunion for CALSTAR Patient and Crew
While en route to Santa Clara Valley, “Mrs. Dorfmeister was deteriorating rapidly
and going in and out of consciousness,” Rae said. Both flight nurses provided
intensive life-saving care, including intubation. Although he was unsure of the
outcome at the time, Rae credits the coordinated emergency response with giving
his patient a fighting chance. “A combination of police officers, fire personnel,
paramedics and CALSTAR all converged at just the right time. Had one or two of
those elements been missing, I think Mrs. Dorfmeister might not have made it to
the medical center alive.”
While CALSTAR 5 was transporting Sarah, the CALSTAR 2 flight crew, which
included Flight Nurse Karla Negron, Flight Nurse Jason Collins, Orienting Flight
Nurse Jeromie Power and Pilot Bill Bates, were flying Taylor to the same facility.
Although he appeared to have only minor scrapes and bruises – an assessment
that was later substantiated – they were still concerned that he might have had
more serious internal injuries. They also wanted to make sure that he would be
near his mother.
Sarah’s husband, Chris, was conducting business in Los Angeles at the time
of the accident. After being notified, he immediately rushed to Los Angeles
International Airport but quickly learned that all flights to San Francisco were
delayed due to fog. “We sat on the tarmac for about two hours before getting
clearance to depart,” he says. “It was perhaps the longest two hours of my life.”
When Chris finally arrived at the medical center, he was greeted by a physician
who spoke to him in detail about his wife’s extensive injuries. “I expected him to
say at the end something like, ‘we did everything we could, but we couldn’t save
her’,” he remembered. “Thank God, those words never came.”
Since the accident, Sarah has undergone 14 major surgeries – some of them lasting
16-17 hours. She faces yet another major reconstructive surgery in November, but
she is slowly regaining her health with each week that passes. “Sarah is doing
well, she continues to heal,” Mr. Dorfmeister said. “From the second the accident
happened, everything was done right. We are so grateful to everyone who helped,
in particular the CALSTAR folks. They brought Sarah through this and we will be
forever grateful.”
This past June, one year after the accident, the Dorfmeister family sent a card,
flowers and candy to the Salinas base. The card was signed by the entire family,
including Taylor’s older sister, Steffani. “It was a small way for us to thank the
crew for its heroic actions,” Mr. Dorfmeister said.
As it turned out, Seth Rae was off-duty on the day the gifts arrived and Mr.
Dorfmeister asked if he could make an appointment to connect sometime in
person. Not long after, they all met at the base and recalled that fateful day. “We
had a great visit, and I was extremely pleased that Sarah was coming along well,”
Rae said. He was also very touched that the family would go out of their way to
visit the base and crew members.
Got
CALSTAR?
Tell Your Friends!
Our members continue to be our best
resource for spreading the word about
the CALSTAR Membership Program.
If you have family or friends who
could benefit from a CALSTAR
membership, please ask them to check
us out at www.calstar.org, or call us
toll-free at 1-888-207-LIFE
for more information.
CALSTAR Board of Directors
Kenneth Meehan, CALSTAR Board Chair,
Executive Vice President Operations – John Muir Health
Lynn Malmstrom, CALSTAR Board President,
President & CEO - CALSTAR
Michael Heil, Principal - Healthworks, Inc.
Raju Iyer, CFO - Regional Medical Center of San Jose
Daryn Kumar, Chief Operating Officer Sutter Roseville Medical Center
CALSTAR Management Team
Lynn Malmstrom, President & CEO
Christian Giller, Chief Operating Officer
Mark Vincenzini, Chief Financial Officer
Jim Arthur, Director of Flight Operations
Michael Baulch, Director, South Bay Region
Louie Bell, Director of Risk and Safety Management
Bruce Betts, Director of Logistics
John Clark, Director of CALCOM
Loren Craine, Director of Maintenance
Ross Fay, Director, San Francisco Bay Region
“For me, it’s just a privilege to work for CALSTAR. There’s kind of a corny saying
that goes, ‘We want to be the best part of your worst day.’ I think all CALSTAR
nurses feel that way.”
Julie Hyde, Director of Information Technology
The Dorfmeisters would no doubt agree.
David Osuna, Director, Inter-facility Services
Amy Maguire, Director of Human Resources
Paul Naas, Director of Medical Operations
Mike Nichols, Director of Development and Outreach
Tom Pandola, Director, Sierra Nevada Region
Debbie Pardee, Director, North Bay Region
CALIFORNIA SHOCK TRAUMA AIR RESCUE
A NONPROFIT COMMUNITY SERVICE
Member Hospitals:
Affiliate Hospitals:
Howard Memorial Hospital
CALIFORNIA SHOCK TRAUMA AIR RESCUE
A NONPROFIT COMMUNITY SERVICE
Natividad Medical Center
4933 Bailey Loop • McClellan, CA 95652
www.calstar.org
Ukiah Valley Medical Center
Sutter Memorial Hospital
CALIFORNIA SHOCK TRAUMA AIR RESCUE
A NONPROFIT COMMUNITY SERVICE
Saint Louise Regional Hospital
Former Pilot Welcomed Back as New Director of
Flight Operations
CALIFORNIA SHOCK TRAUMA AIR RESCUE
A NONPROFIT COMMUNITY SERVICE
Jim Arthur, a former pilot, instructor and training manager for
CALSTAR, has returned to the organization to assume
responsibilities as the
new director of flight
operations.
Arthur held the
position of designated
pilot examiner with
the Federal Aviation
Administration office
in Sacramento, where he has worked since 2006.
“We welcome Jim’s return to CALSTAR to lead our Flight
Operations Department. He brings his vast experience with the
FAA, combined with eight years past experience with CALSTAR
in a number of relevant roles,” said Lynn Malmstrom, president
and CEO of CALSTAR.
Malmstrom added, “I thank Louie Bell, whom Jim Arthur
replaces, for his work in the DFO position over the last 12 years,
and his acceptance of his vital new role as director of risk and
safety management.”
Jim Arthur
CALSTAR Selects New Quality Assurance Manager
George Shaw was recently named CALSTAR’s new quality
assurance manager, a position based at the company’s McClellan
headquarters. In his new role, Shaw will be responsible for
managing and ensuring compliance with CALSTAR’s quality
assurance program, which monitors and evaluates all aspects of
aircraft maintenance and inspections.
Shaw has been with CALSTAR for four years, working as an
avionics technician, avionics supervisor and hangar floor
supervisor. He brings a total of eighteen years of experience in
Our Mission:
the biomedical field, with twelve
years in management. Shaw holds
baccalaureate degrees in business and
electrical engineering.
George Shaw
To save lives, reduce disability and speed recovery for victims of trauma
and illness through rapid transport, quality medical care and education.