||| FROM ORCAS AVIATION ASSOCIATION |||
It’s the afternoon and your spouse or child just had a life-threatening medical event and was flown off to a hospital emergency room on the mainland. It’s imperative that you get to the hospital – NOW! Can you wait hours for the ferry – if it’s even operating?
Your spouse or child just had a serious fall and broke some bones. It’s not a life-threatening event but they need to get to a hospital emergency room on the mainland – NOW! Can you wait for the ferry – if it’s even operating?
You’ve been diagnosed with something that requires chemo or radiation, etc. The sessions can be once a week or several days a week at a treatment center on the mainland. You work and it will take the entire day if you must use the ferry. What do you do?
These are just a few of the many and varied medical situations that can happen to any of us. Caring fellow island pilots stepped up to solve the problem. The Orcas Aviation Association formed Mercy Flight with a group of volunteer pilots willing to fly islanders back and forth to mainland medical facilities.
There is never a charge for this service. Mercy pilots are normally reimbursed 10 gallons of fuel for each flight but that in no way covers the actual cost of operating an aircraft, keeping it hangered, paying insurance, etc., or for their time. Some of the flights are generously flown without any fuel reimbursement. To date fuel reimbursement costs have been paid by donations from concerned community members.
However, fuel costs have increased with aviation fuel averaging $2.00 more per gallon than auto fuel. The number of Mercy Flights has increased dramatically because of the unreliable ferry service. The Mercy Flights fund is running dangerously low. The funds are projected to be exhausted by the end of the year unless additional donations are received.
A donation to this special island service will allow Mercy Flights to continue serving the community during a critical time for someone in need. Donations gratefully accepted at the
- Orcas Island Community Foundation
- PO Box 1496
Eastsound WA 98245 - and designated for the Mercy Flight Fund.
Mercy Flight pilots offer essential service – I can’t think of a more worthy cause – I hope this article brings attention to what they do for this community, and that there will be lots and lots of donations.
Kind of makes me wonder about the feasibility of offering memberships.
The FAA considers flying a patient to/from medical treatment “Mercy” Flights. Flying people or supplies to support medical / emergency activities are “Angel” Flights. Both would normally fall under the FAA classification of “Commercial” flight activity and require a commercial rated pilot and airplane. But OAA has a letter of exemption from the FAA allowing “volunteer, private pilots to fly their own aircraft” and receive an allotment of fuel per round trip flight paid for by donations received from the public at large for both Angel and Mercy flights. OAA may NOT solicited donations from the actual patients or their families.
This is not Med Evac. OAA is NOT allowed to fly any patient that may need medical attention during the flight. And OAA is not insurance. We already have two professional, commercial services that provide that to San Juan Co. residents. And both are very reasonably priced.
Thank you so much for including the Mercy Pilots Association under the umbrella of our Orcas Community Foundation.
More than 20 years ago, our Family started the Fund for Mercy Pilots, as at the time, 1999, my late husband was flown
for radiation and chemotherapy treatments . to Bellingham We wanted to provide funds in response, Working with the FAA and along with Members of Orcas Pilot Association, we developed a viable program that has grown to meet the needs over the years of Orcas Islanders.= and continues to do so.
Your description is accurate and our Family (Harris-Evans and Phillips) are grateful that our Community Foundation has taken over the management. We know it is in good hands.
Thank you Barbara and to your family for being so visionary. This program helps so many when they need it most. The Community Foundation is happy to help support this program and so many others that are critical supports for this rural community.