People walking through Nay Aug Park on Monday had a chance to view up close something they normally see zipping through the sky on important business - a Geisinger Life Flight helicopter.
Part of a show-and-tell for the Scranton community and staff at Geisinger Community Medical Center, the helicopter's crew spent time at the landing pad at the park to show off the equipment to the community.
Living on Colfax Avenue near GCMC, Victoria Angeli and her 7-year-old daughter, Chloe Berkoski, often see the helicopters pass. On Monday, they had the opportunity to examine the inside of the aircraft.
"She sees it all of the time," Ms. Angeli said of her daughter. "I tell her that it's taking care of people."
Since Community Medical Center officially partnered in February with Geisinger Health System, the Scranton hospital's staff, along with many residents in the community, continues to get to know other parts of the Geisinger system. Usually operating in emergency situations, Life Flight helicopters take people from accidents or hospitals to specialized care.
Redmond Lines, a flight nurse, said he and other emergency personnel enjoy explaining their jobs to the public.
"It's an intense job," he said. "We don't get the opportunity to put the aircraft on display very much."
The helicopter, one of five active helicopters in the Geisinger Life Flight program, is based at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and has 50 to 60 flights a month, Mr. Lines said. Overall, the regional helicopter service has just under 3,000 flights each year.
Each of the helicopters is equipped with medicine, equipment and staff to handle severe injuries that require the fastest medical attention.
"We're trained at a higher level," said Robert F. Sembrat, a flight paramedic. "You really don't know from day to day what you're going to get."
Contact the writer: rward@timesshamrock.com, @rwardTT on Twitter