Vanderbilt LifeFlight celebrated 40 years as a comprehensive transport program with a special event held at the Grand Ole Opry in Studio A on July 11. More than 200 people gathered to recognize the program that has become a mainstay of this region, helping so many in their greatest time of need.
“For four decades Vanderbilt LifeFlight has undergone remarkable growth and has been an important pillar of the emergency and trauma services we provide Tennesseans. The impact of the program’s more than 77,000 successful flights and 37,000 ground transports has resulted in countless lives saved,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “We are grateful for the program’s visionary founders and for each of the physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians, pilots, mechanics and other personnel who have served with distinction over the years.”
Co-founded by John A. Morris Jr., MD, Professor of Surgery, and Joseph C. Ross, MD, Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Emeritus, the LifeFlight program started as a single helicopter air ambulance service four decades ago and has grown to a comprehensive emergency medical services provider that includes critical care air and ground transport, a ground ambulance program, event medicine coverage, emergency and dispatch communications.
“This significant milestone is a testament to the unwavering dedication and tireless efforts in providing critical care transport services to our community,” said Lee Ann Liska, MBA, President and Chief Operating Officer of Vanderbilt University Hospital. “Vanderbilt LifeFlight has set the standard for excellence in patient care, innovation and professionalism. The team’s hard work, compassion and commitment to saving lives has made a lasting impact on countless individuals and families in their time of need.”
Since 1984, LifeFlight’s critical care program has served more than 77,000 air medical patients alongside more than 37,000 ground transports. Each patient receives high-quality and individualized care.
“Our dedicated teams are ready to provide the best emergency care and medical transportation around the clock,” said Stephan Russ, MD, MPH, executive director of Emergency Medicine and associate chief of staff for Vanderbilt University Hospital. “The team’s tremendous skill and logistical prowess have established LifeFlight as a bedrock of our community. We are proud to serve as a critical part of the medical infrastructure in Middle Tennessee and beyond.”
Today the LifeFlight fleet includes nine helicopters, one airplane, 28 ground ambulances and four large critical care ambulances that provide rapid access emergency care for Middle Tennessee, parts of west and east Tennessee, southern Kentucky and northern Alabama. LifeFlight’s geographical footprint has also grown with community-embedded bases in Gallatin, Tullahoma, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Mt. Pleasant, Paris, Cookeville and Humboldt.
In 2020, Vanderbilt LifeFlight was named the Association of Air Medical Services National Program of the Year for its superior level of patient care.
“Our air program is the cornerstone of LifeFlight, but our service doesn’t stop there,” said Laura Price, MSN, RN, PMP, senior director of operations for Vanderbilt LifeFlight. “LifeFlight has also conducted more than 37,000 ground ambulance transports serving Middle Tennessee. Our event medicine program, which was established in 2009, has become a mainstay of more than 14,000 entertainment, sporting and community events, treating more than 600 patients on site and completing more than 800 transports.”
LifeFlight also operates two communication centers that are instrumental in coordinating patient care and transportation services. One center triages three helipads, provides air advisories to flight crews, and offers rapid response support to VUMC’s four on-campus hospitals. The other center was established in 2018 and provides round-the-clock transportation coordination for the entire Vanderbilt Health system, handling nearly 93,000 transportation requests to date.
For more information about LifeFlight’s scope and history, visit vumc.org/lifeflight/welcome.
