Specialized air crew in Arizona delivers lifesaving care for moms, newborns
PHOENIX (InvestigateTV)— Most air medical crews are trained to respond to trauma, but a unique flight unit based in Phoenix, Arizona, has a very different mission. They care for mothers and newborns, sometimes both at the same time.
The team is often the lifeline between rural hospitals and the specialized care. But before the blades ever spin, the work begins for Arizona’s only maternal-neonatal flight unit.
Sasha LaMastres is a maternal flight nurse trained to treat high-risk pregnancy emergencies midair.
“We are typically doing vitals the entire time. We’re watching mom and baby,” LaMastres said. “We provide fetal monitoring and we’re able to see what’s happening with the fetus along with mom,” said LaMastres.
When a baby can’t wait, there is Keri Padilla.
“I am one of the AMBSs for AirEvac one. I am a neonatal flight nurse,” she said.
She is trained to care for the tiniest patients.
“The smallest preemie I’ve seen is probably about 360 grams, which is I want to say maybe 10 ounces. But typically we range from about 500 grams to 5 kilos,” Padilla explained.
Unlike typical air ambulances, this crew has incubators, ventilators and medications for preemies.
“We can intubate, we can put in umbilical lines, we can do all the things that we would normally do here in a higher level of care unit, but we can do this outside of the city,” Padilla explained.
Within minutes of a call, the team can be up in the air.
“Our team moves as quickly as we possibly can. Absolutely every second counts,” LaMastres said.
Since launching 50 years ago, the unit has flown thousands of times. often filling a dangerous gap in Arizona’s healthcare landscape, landing in places where OB care is hours away.
“Often we’re responding to patients that need a higher level of care, so moving from rural areas to tertiary centers,” LaMastres said.
The maternal-neonatal flight team responds to several calls a day. With growth across the state, the team expects demand to keep climbing.
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