Sampson Community College welcomed a visitor from the skies as the Duke Life Flight Helicopter Transport landed at the college’s new walking trail on the east side of campus. The visit was a part of Sampson County Emergency Medical Service’s EMS Night Out. Nearly 100 people attended the event.

Duke Life Flight operates two EC-145 helicopters and is an accredited critical care and Emergency Air and Ground transport agency in Durham. Life Flight provides services to North Carolina and surrounding states. Life Flight is available to transport critically ill or injured adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week particularly when time, specialized skills, or specialized resources are crucial to the patient’s outcome or survival.

“This is great to see,” said Angela Magill, Department Chair and EMS Coordinator at SCC. “Healthcare providers in our Continuing Education programs such as paramedics, nurses, EMT’s and phlebotomists were offered credit to attend. This is an excellent way for them to learn about hemorrhage, shock, and special pediatric care. Our plan is to make this an annual event.”

For onlookers, the event provided an unusual perspective on emergency healthcare and how effectively helicopters can arrive to a scene and transport victims back to a facility. For the college, not only did it highlight some of the landscape that has received a lot of buzz over the past few months having been part of the Develop the East campaign but also drew attention to the healthcare programs which SCC is known for.

Recently, RegisteredNursing.org ranked SCC’s LPN to RN (Licensed Practical Nursing to Registered Nursing) program fourth in the nation. The college’s Medical Assisting program received national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and its Paramedic program is also on track to receive a similar accreditation.

For more information on SCC’s Paramedic and EMS programs, contact Magill at [email protected].

The Duke Life Flight helicopter lands at Sampson Community College.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_life-flight.jpgThe Duke Life Flight helicopter lands at Sampson Community College.

By Dan Grubb

Sampson Community College