The 911 operator has dialed an emergency call into the 911 system. A man has reportedly collapsed at his home in Hunger Creek, just south of Gold Beach, likely a stroke or heart attack victim. The operator immediately dispatches the Cal-Ore Life Flight ground ambulance crew in Gold Beach, and the medical carrier system is underway.

Cal-Ore Operations Manager Joe Gregorio says, "We receive calls 24 hours a day, on an everyday basis for some kind of medical complication. Within minutes a crew responds. If the person needs an emergency air transport to Medford, Portland, or another Northwest medical facility, we provide that through our company. We have carried patients by air to San Francisco, Sacramento, and other points where specialized care is required."

The above Hunter Creek patient was flown to the Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, one of the top 10 cardiac care facilities in the United States.

In 1998 Westlog, Inc. acquired the assets of the Southern Curry Ambulance Association, a long-time ground ambulance carrier. Today it's know as Cal-Ore Life Flight, with seven ground units and two air ambulances. They conduct their flights from the Crescent City, California Airport and serve parts of Northern California and Curry County along the rural South Coast.

Cal-Ore Life Flight's planes, Cessna 421C Golden Eagles, are fitted with state-of-the-art medical equipment, including life support systems, ventilators, and other associated Advance Life Support (ALS) supplies. These turbo-charged twin-engine aircraft are approved to fly through the challenging weather conditions experienced on the coast with pressurized cabins to mimimize the effects of high altitude on its patients. Attainable speeds range up to 250 mph, with altitudes maxing out at 30,000 feet.

Elderly citizens make up a high percentage of the carrier's volume, but the company stipulates that there is no age minimum. "We focus on carrying critically ill or injured people," Gregorio states.

Besides the pilot on each emergency flight there is a critical card registered nurse aboard, along with a highly trained respiratory therapist and/or a paramedic.

"All of these professionals," says Gregorio, "are continually upgrading their procedures in cardiac life support, head trauma, neonatal resuscitation, pediatric trauma, and so forth. We are required to meet the highest standards in medical transportation."

Dan Brattain, CEO and owner of Westlog Inc. points out how important their flight operation is. "If you've ever traveled Hwys 101, 5 or 199 in the wintertime, and endured the adverse road conditions, you can appreciate how flying patients has saved time and, in some cases, lives. We have pager telephone numbers that feed calls to us 24 hours a day. Time is of the greatest importance, and we try to make it our ally."

The isolated rural Northern California/Southern Oregon coast just doesn't have enough population to support a facility that can provide the high level of care and expertise needed at times.

"But you can't forsake the humans living there," says Brattain, "and that's why our company has been so readily accepted."

Cal-Ore Life Flight has an impeccable safety record, and their membership has quadrupled over the past four years. Brattain says "It's a comfort to people, knowing that a highly trained airplane crew stands ready to transport them across Oregon and California to specialized medical facilities."

In October 1999, the State of Oregon honored the Westlog/Cal-Ore Life Flight with its distinguished "Commitment to Quality" award.  Dan Brattain, too, was acknowledged as the 2000 "EMS Administrator of the Year," an award that perpetuates excellence in leadership and dedication toward serving the public.