Life Link III Opens Location In Brainerd

At their now seventh location, Life Link III is officially open for business.

“It offers an extended medical care, air medical. With populations the way that they are and the accidents that happen up here, it is a great resource for local EMS, law enforcement and fire to have another option in this area,” said Nate Lebeck, the Clinical Operations Manager for Life Link III.

There will be four full time pilots who have rotating 12 hour shifts to make sure they are available 24 hours a day.

“You can change people’s lives and turn hours into minutes to get people to appropriate facilities and physicians that can appropriately take care of them,” said Laura Adamek, a Flight Nurse for Life Link III.

With this newest addition there are 6 locations in Minnesota and 1 in Wisconsin, but the Brainerd base will be a huge asset.

“There is a large influx in tourism and natives to the area that were definitely underserved and needed an additional helicopter resource in the area,” Adamek said.

One pilot, one nurse and one flight paramedic all fit into the helicopter with their patient and all of their equipment. All flights are equipped with machines to measure things like heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels in addition to an ultrasound to check for internal bleeding.

“In the summer time people are out and about, there is boating accidents, ATV accidents so we are a little more busy in the summer. In the winter, as per Minnesota tradition everybody hunkers down but that still leaves plenty of drownings, ice fishing incidents and snowmobiling accidents that keep up busy in the winter as well,” Adamek said.

Trauma victims or those with accelerated injuries that continue to become worse over time can count on Life Link to supply them with the care they need.

“When people call with a heart attack or a stroke or maybe respond to the scene of a motor vehicle accident, Life Link III is always committed to always sending the closest helicopter, even when it is not one of our own,” said Kolby Kolbert, Vice President Clinical Services.

As part of the 9-hospital consortium, Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center will benefit from this new base along with the community.