Life Flight Maintenance Doesn't Pre-Empt Learning Opportunity

Students in the paramedic technician and emergency medical services majors visited the hangar for Geisinger’s Life Flight helicopter on Wednesday, where the three-person crew gave them an overview of its services and talked about safety protocols when on the scene of a Life Flight landing. Each year, as part of a summer Operations and Rescue Practices for the Paramedic course, students learn about crime scene awareness, medical incident command and emergency vehicle operations, including a landing by Life Flight and hands-on Emergency Vehicle Driver Training. On Wednesday, because the helicopter was undergoing a parts replacement, the Penn College students visited the helicopter at its hangar at the Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville. There, flight medic Kevin Niedzwiecki, a part-time instructor at Penn College, and other crew members provided insight and a hands-on demonstration. The photo was provided by Andrew L. Mattocks, a part-time Penn College instructor and Life Flight employee (and full-time ICU nurse) who received Penn College degrees in paramedic technology (’06), applied health studies (’11) and nursing (’17) and provided an on-campus lecture in flight operations earlier this summer.