Forty years after its first flight, Mission Health’s Mountain Area Medical Airlift is celebrating four decades of providing critical air medical care across Western North Carolina and the surrounding region.
Since the program began on Sept. 29, 1986, MAMA crews have transported more than 31,000 patients, bringing highly specialized care to patients when minutes matter and quickly connecting them with the level of care they need.
“I am incredibly proud of the generations of flight nurses, paramedics, pilots, mechanics and other team members who have built this program and continue that legacy today. MAMA represents the very best of Mission Health – extraordinary clinical expertise, an unwavering commitment to our patients and a willingness to go wherever we are needed to care for the people of this region,” said Greg Lowe, president of Mission Health.
MAMA began with one helicopter, MAMA 1, based at Mission Hospital in Asheville. As the region’s needs grew, the program expanded in October 2004 with MAMA 2 stationed at Angel Medical Center in Franklin, bringing air medical resources closer to communities across far Western North Carolina.
That commitment continues today through investments in the people, aircraft and facilities that support the program. HCA Healthcare funded a new hangar for MAMA 2 at Angel Medical Center, providing a dedicated home for the aircraft and its crew. The hangar is large enough to bring MAMA 2 indoors during severe weather and includes sleeping quarters, a kitchen and other space for crew members who remain ready to respond around the clock. Stationing MAMA 2 and its crew in Franklin helps quickly connect patients throughout the western part of the region with the specialized care they need.
Investment in MAMA’s aircraft has also expanded what flight teams can do for patients. The program’s newest helicopter can carry more weight, an important capability for safely transporting larger patients, and provides additional room around the patient so flight nurses and paramedics can move and continue providing critical care while in the air.
Today, MAMA is supported by 36 active medical crew members, including flight nurses and flight paramedics, along with 18 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit flight team members and respiratory therapists who provide specialized care for the region’s smallest and most vulnerable patients. Eight full-time pilots and five full-time helicopter mechanics help keep the program flying safely.
The people behind MAMA are deeply connected to the communities they serve. Current crew members live throughout Buncombe, Madison, Yancey, Henderson, Transylvania, Haywood, Swain, Macon, Cherokee, McDowell, Watauga and Polk counties, as well as neighboring Tennessee and South Carolina.
Some have spent much of their careers caring for patients in the air. John Sherman, RN, has been with MAMA for 37 years and said the impact of that work can sometimes become clear in unexpected places.
“You don’t realize the impact that you have,” Sherman said. “I was running a race one day and a guy comes up to me and thanks me, telling me I flew his daughter last week. We are very lucky to do what we do.”
That commitment spans generations of MAMA team members. Flight paramedic Roy Barlow has served with the program for 25 years, while pilot Kenny Dehart has served for 13 years. For others, MAMA’s mission is intensely personal. Current manager Gina Scharf remembers her mother being flown as a child, while newer crew member TJ Holloway was himself transported by MAMA following a severe childhood car accident.
Four decades after MAMA 1 first lifted off from Mission Hospital, the aircraft, technology and facilities have evolved and the program has grown far beyond where it began. What has remained constant is its mission: bringing advanced care to patients wherever they are and connecting communities across the mountains with the specialized care available throughout Mission Health.
“For 40 years, people across this region have known that when they see MAMA in the sky, someone is getting the care they need,” Lowe said. “We are proud of that legacy, and through continued investment in this program, we are making sure MAMA is here and ready for the next patient, the next family and the next generation of Western North Carolinians.”
ABOUT MISSION HEALTH
Mission Health, based in Asheville, North Carolina is part of HCA Healthcare and serves as the leading healthcare system for Western North Carolina and the adjoining region. Operating 1,219 licensed beds across six acute care hospitals and one inpatient rehabilitation hospital, Mission Health offers numerous satellite practices, post-acute care provider CarePartners and the region’s only ACS-verified level I trauma center. As the largest employer in the region, Mission Health is committed to improving the health and wellness of the people of Western North Carolina. For more information, please visit MissionHealth.org or @MissionHealthNC.
