Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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| Local pilots provide free transport in medical cases |
Pilot Jennifer Garber stands at Blue Ridge Airport with the plane she and co-owner Teri Bergman call the Blue Ridge Angel. (Bulletin photo) |
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
By JEFF WRIGHT - Bulletin Staff Writer
Local pilots Jennifer Garber, Dr. Stuart Bergman and Dan Baptist help make up a network of more than 5,000 volunteer pilots nationwide that is the backbone of Angel Flight.
A nonprofit organization, Angel Flight provides free, mainly medically related flights for individuals or health care organizations, its Web site states.
Pilots, who donate their time, aircraft, fuel and skill for the missions, fill a void in patient care that often would be left open due to the patients’ financial situation or need for specialized care, said Suzanne Rhodes, director of public affairs for Angel Flight’s Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Virginia.
The pilots’ stories are ones of “devotion and sacrifice,” Rhodes said.
“Our pilots are our heroes,” she said. “They’ll go the third and fourth miles.”
But Garber said the pilots rarely take credit for the sacrifices they make.
“We don’t make a big deal about ourselves,” said Garber, who has flown three Angel Flight missions in the past year. Many pilots silently provide their service and don’t want others to know, the Martinsville resident said.
“It’s not about us doing it. It’s about doing it for the people,” she added.
There are about 311 volunteer pilots in Virginia, but many choose to remain anonymous, Rhodes said.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Angel Flight flew more than 2,200 missions to take supplies into the Gulf Coast and to bring people out, Rhodes said. Only the U.S. military flew more missions, she said.
Martinsville pilot Dan Baptist flew four of those missions in his twin engine Piper Seneca, delivering medical supplies and pharmaceutical equipment to doctors in New Orleans, he said. Baptist, who has been a pilot since 1972, has been involved with volunteer fire and rescue for a number of years.
He became involved with Angel Flight because he “just felt the need to help other people,” he said.
Garber and Teri Bergman, who rides along on the missions, bought the plane they call “Blue Ridge Angel” in August 2005. After Garber’s mother’s death in September 2004 from cancer, the friends thought volunteering for Angel Flight would be a good way to honor her memory.
After a lengthy search they found the plane, a four-seat 1999 Piper PA28 Archer III, in Chicago.
One reason it took so long to find the plane is that they wanted it to have air conditioning, which is found on fewer than 10 percent of general aviation aircraft.
“We wanted it to feel like a car,” Garber said. “We wanted the patient to feel good.”
The main focus for Garber and other pilots is making sure the experience is as pleasant as possible for passengers, she said.
Teri’s husband, Dr. Stuart Bergman, also is involved with Angel Flight and has flown a number of missions, Garber said.
“My first flight I took a little boy to Knoxville, Tenn.,” Garber said. “I sat and bawled my eyes out when I got home. It was so rewarding I can’t explain it. I don’t think there’s anything that does more good than to help somebody out. You can’t put a value on that.”
The boy recently had attended Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., for children with serious illnesses, Garber said. She also has flown another mission from the camp, taking a girl home to London, Ky., as well as a mission to take a girl to Kentucky on a compassion flight.
Compassion flights normally are not medically related. They may reunite families or bring them together in times of need when they have no other way of doing so, Garber said.
Some of the patients transported have conditions that require them to see a specialist they might not be able to reach without Angel Flight, Rhodes said. Others may live in areas so rural that an Angel Flight is the most feasible way for them to get the treatment they need, she said.
John Davis, manager of Blue Ridge Regional Airport where the “Blue Ridge Angel” is stored, said about six planes fly Angel Flight missions out of the airport.
The airport and Davis have been helpful and understanding to the pilots and patients involved with Angel Flight, said Garber, who is business manager for the Blue Ridge Airport Authority. The airport has stayed open late to accommodate flights and provided space to display Angel Flight information, she said.
Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic recently received a $50,000 grant from the state of Virginia to help promote the organization in the state. For more information about Angel Flight or to request a flight, call 1-800-296-3797.
Local pilots interested in volunteering are asked to call the Blue Ridge Regional Airport at 957-2291. |
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