Air Methods’ WellSpan WellFlight, the air medical provider based in Gettysburg, celebrated five years of service on Oct. 3 with an anniversary event that brought together former patients, their families, community members, and local partners at the WellFlight base at the Adams County Emergency Services Center.
A highlight of the event was the reunion between former patient Ethan Shank and the flight clinicians, Nurse Melanie Lewis and Paramedic Caitlin Dussler, who provided his critical care after a serious car accident in May; Shank fell asleep at the wheel after a long day, crashed into a ditch and then head-on into a tree at nearly 60 mph, crawled from the wreckage but sustained a tear in his small intestine that required immediate intervention, and WellFlight provided rapid transport and ICU-level care en route to Hershey Hospital, where he spent less than three weeks before returning to play soccer and baseball full time by the end of June.
“We’re so thankful to not only be here to celebrate WellFlight’s anniversary, but to give thanks to the flight clinicians who provided his critical care that day,” said Matt Shank, Ethan’s father. “We appreciate everything they did for Ethan.”
Five years ago, Air Methods and WellSpan Health partnered to provide critical care air medical transport to communities in central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland, and since opening WellFlight, it has cared for more than 2,000 patients, becoming an indispensable part of the region’s emergency medical system.
“WellFlight has been an outstanding partner in our mission to deliver the highest level of emergency care. Their expertise, speed, and dedication make a real difference when lives are on the line,” said Brian Wheeler, executive director and chief of Adams Regional EMS. “Our partnership ensures that our patients receive exceptional care from the scene to the hospital.”
WellFlight serves as a vital regional link with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) team that works with WellSpan York Hospital’s Level 1 Regional Resource Trauma Center and is one of only four Air Methods bases in the Northeast equipped to provide neonatal CPAP; the base is also a balloon pump specialty base.
“With these specialty capabilities, our service area is extensive,” said Jesse Weller, a flight paramedic and one of the original team members who helped launch the base. “We routinely fly missions throughout Pennsylvania and neighboring states.”
In 2024, the team began carrying and administering whole blood, a gold standard in trauma care that has been especially beneficial for moderately to severely injured patients, including those with traumatic brain injuries; former patients Kyle Hoover and Karen Bowling, both attendees at the anniversary event, received blood transfusions during transport and credited WellFlight with saving their lives.
Most recently, WellFlight added the AutoPulse® NXT, an automated CPR device that provides continuous chest compressions during flight and allows clinicians to perform additional lifesaving interventions, part of the program’s ongoing investments in equipment and training to improve patient outcomes in partnership with local first responders and hospitals.
WellFlight is in-network with most major insurance providers and operates a patient advocacy program that works directly with patients and families regardless of insurance status to make access to care affordable and stress-free; prepaid memberships are not required with any Air Methods provider.
Photos of the event are available here, courtesy of WellFlight: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XPMbxCJ1FsGHBugY6
About Air Methods: WellSpan WellFlight is part of Air Methods (airmethods.com), the nation’s leading air medical service, delivering lifesaving care to more than 100,000 people every year; with 45 years of experience, Air Methods is a preferred partner for hospitals and one of the largest community-based providers of air medical services, and its Air Methods Ascend clinical education program offers critical care nurses and paramedics training opportunities using high-fidelity mannequins, virtual reality and cadaver labs.