Our Wellington Florida homeschool support group went on this really cool field trip to the Trauma Hawk center right at the West Palm Beach Airport. We had a great turn out with over 50 homeschoolers of all ages. One of the things that I love the most about homeschool field trips and activities is that all the age groups are together and that is great for learning good socialization skills.
The kids has so much fun. I was so impressed with how polite and courteous the children were. Tristan had a blast. He was able to sit in the pilot's seat of the Trauma Hawk.
The Trauma Hawk is Palm Beach County's Medivac Helicopter program. The county sponsored a contest with all the children in the county to come up with a name for the helicopter. One boy gave it the name Trauma Hawk and that is how the Trauma Hawk got its' name.
The county pays for the program and they have 2 Helicopters equipped to handle 2 patients each. Trauma is the leading cause of death in Palm Beach County for ages under 40. The first hour after Trauma is the most crucial time.
The Trauma Hawks' mission is to transport victims from anywhere in Palm Beach County to one of the Trauma centers. They also transport to the burn center in Jacksonville and the Children's Hospital in Miami should the Trauma centers not be equipped to handle certain traumas.
The 2 Helicopters are S76C Sikorsky's and have 856 horsepower engines and fly up to 180 mph. It takes about 100 gallons of gasoline to be in flight for one hour including take off and landing. Each helicopter costs $ 7 Million dollars. The Sikorsky in helicopters is like the Mercedes in cars. They average 3 pick ups per day mostly from Belle Glade, Jupiter and Lake Worth.
During the Equestrian season they have been flying out to Wellington for Trauma victims that are too serious to go to our Wellington Regional Medical Center which is moments away from anywhere in Wellington or Palms West Hospital which is right across from Wellington on Southern Blvd in Loxahatchee.
From the time the call comes in to the time they take off, only 4.5 minutes have passed by. That is some pretty fast reaction time if you ask me! It takes on average 12.5 minutes to get to most scenes of traumas and less than 1/2 hour to get to Belle Glade which is the farthest west point of the county. The average cost to the insurance company or to the patient is $7,500 per trip.
There are 2 medics that go on the flight with 1 pilot during the daylight hours and 2 pilots after dark. The kids asked what it takes to be a pilot. Tim Larson who was the Pilot got his flight training and hours in the military. You need 2500 hours of flight time and 5 to 10 years of experience.
We all learned a lot and I sat there taking all these notes so I could write a post about the Trauma Hawk for our Getting to Know Palm Beach County Series:
CityPlace Is Where Its At In West Palm Beach
Green Cay Nature Center in Boynton Beach
Tiger Shark Cove Park In Wellington
Florida Everglades Recreation Centers of Restoration
Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee
International Polo Museum and Hall Of Fame in Lake Worth
Winter Activities in South Florida
National Horse Show In Wellington Florida
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Gregg Wynn, Southern California
Gregg, I will check out your website. Thanks. I am changing our website over the next 2 months. Katerina
Katerina - This made me reflect on my chidren's field trips. Everyone here seems to have had a great time.
I have a picture of my son in the cockpit of a commercial plane playing with the controls. I tell him to treasure it because this generation won't have the same opportunity since times has changed.
Margaret Woda, Maryland REALTOR
Margaret- Yes, we do have fabulous field trips and many that we can go on the public schools can not because many places can not handle large groups of kids. I took my son to one event that was open to both homeschool and public school and neither one of us wanted to ever do that again. The kids from the public schools were so rude compared to the homeschooled kids. Katerina
Lorinda- Thank you for your comment and you have a wonderful day too! I think he is adorable too! :) Katerina
Julie- I took notes too! Good student that I am! :). Thank you for commenting, it was fun and we did learn a lot. Katerina
Frank- Wouldn't that be wonderful! Thank you for commenting. Katerina
Dan- Thanks! We do have fun and I still am learning right along my son! Katerina
Matthew- Thanks! I had fun taking those photos and watching kids have fun is always such a joy. Katerina
Jennifer Fivelsdal,ABR,GRI,SRES
Jennifer- Thank you for sharing your son's chance to sit in the cockpit. Pretty cool! Katerina
Bill Gassett Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate
Bill- That is fun to know about you. My sons are all chefs, I don't know that happened. My little son loves gadgets, building things and inventing things. He says he wants to be an artist and a scientist. Katerina
Carole- You are welcome. I enjoyed taking the photos too. Katerina
Jeff, Nice to see you here! I have been homeschooling for 28 years, a veteran is what they call me. I am also an advocate for homeschooling. Active Rainers that are homeschooling parents are Ashley Drake, Jason Crouch, Cyndee Haydon and Todd Clark. That is who I know so far! We want to go to DC too, but we will go when my youngest son is 8 years old. Katerina
Lake Wallenpaupack Pike County PA Real Estate | Karen E Rice
Karen- I didn't know that you homeschooled! I learned something new about you today! Katerina
Yep, I homeschooled my oldest daughter up through 3rd grade. However, I was unable to juggle three young children on different levels...I know that others can do it but I am not one of them. I greatly admire homeschoolers.
Had my kids been further apart in age, I probably would still be doing it. I strongly support it, encourage it, but also realize that while anyone CAN do it, not everyone SHOULD. ;-)
Lake Wallenpaupack Pike County PA Real Estate | Karen E Rice
Karen, AH, I think you were too hard on yourself. Well, now there are so many new models on teaching different grade levels all at the same time at home. When 5 of my kids were all 2 years apart it did take more energy and focus but the older ones ended up teaching the younger ones a lot and I did most of my teaching on the higher levels and it was amazing the younger ones just caught on. I think that is why my youngest daughter was in the University by the time she was 14. Make it a great week! Katerina