This September, First Flight will celebrate 30 years of serving the citizens of Brevard County. First Flight is the only air ambulance that services the East Coast of Central Florida and also responds to parts of Indian River and Osceola counties. Since 1988, First Flight has saved thousands of lives. First Flight is based at the Melbourne International Airport and is licensed by the State of Florida's Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to provide both pre-hospital and interfacility transport for adult and pediatric patients.

Over the last 30 years of service, First Flight has:

• Rescued close to 20,000 patients
• Logged 16,500 flight hours
• Flown 1,732,500 miles
• Burned 1,072,500 gallons of fuel

First Flight has the capability to provide a variety of services, including:

• Pre-hospital trauma alerts initiated by local fire departments or law enforcement agencies
• Interfacility transports for rapid stabilization of multisystem trauma and complex medical patients
• Trauma assistance for both adult and pediatric patients
• Advanced airway management procedures
• Specialized transport of cardiac patients that require Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Therapy, Impella device and transvenous pacemaker management
• Specialized transport of high-risk OB patients
• Administer blood to critically ill patients
• Injury prevention and safety programs through community outreach
• Educating other healthcare professionals
• Specialty physician referral

"When First Flight gets an emergency call and quickly responds to the scene of an accident, you can be assured the finest and most highly skilled professionals are doing all they can to save lives when seconds matter the most" said Brett Esrock, CEO of Health First's Holmes Regional Medical Center. "Health First is proud of First Flight and its 30 years of dedicated service to our community."