![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/grandview-tail-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWith a life on the line, and not a minute to spare, time begins to rapidly disappear. Business jets and helicopters are time machines that combat this fast-forwarded reality. GrandView Aviation has an expertly trained dispatch team prepared to address the challenges associated with transplant flyouts and crew members at the ready to launch into action. From meteorological issues, logistical challenges and late-night, fatigue-inducing departure times, the GrandView team is equipped to ensure safe and reliable organ transport for every flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTransplant transport logistics can be affected by many challenging unknowns that are out of everyone\u2019s control: change in weather, unplanned operating room timing changes, stability of the donor, and recipient issues,\u201d said Debbi McRann, chief clinical officer with The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland. \u201cCommunication is key to ensuring that the teams and life-saving organ reach the respective destination as soon as possible,\u201d explained McRann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GrandView\nhas worked alongside The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland (The LLF), an\norgan procurement organization (OPO), for countless missions and their\nestablished relationship remains a pivotal component of continued transport\nsuccess. McRann noted, \u201cWe are able to meet the organ transplant transportation\ntimeframes with fixed wing or helicopter aircraft because of Grandview\u2019s\ncommitment to our mission. Grandview\u2019s knowledgeable team provides flight times\nso that we know what to expect, are proactive in updating us about potential\nweather challenges, and have experience with airports around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organ\ntransport flights present unique challenges to safety, as addressed by Peter\nJohn Pahygiannis, Director of Operations for GrandView Aviation. \u201cThese\nmissions carry a heavy weight on our entire team. We have to get the job done.\nBut the gravity and importance of a single flight cannot outweigh safety – so\nwe\u2019ve designed an entire culture and organizational process that allows us to\ncomplete these flights at an incredibly high level of safety and speed,\u201d said\nPahygiannis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jessie-Naor.jpg\")
Jessie\nNaor, Chief Operating Officer of GrandView Aviation, stated, \u201cWe\u2019re absolutely\nan industry leader in this mission type. We have a large pilot to aircraft\nratio so we can offer true 24-hour on-call crews, we limit the number of\nconsecutive days crews can fly at night to limit chronic fatigue, and more.\nOrgan transplant surgeries typically occur in night hours, when hospital\noperating rooms are less busy. Safety is expensive and it is worth it. We make\na promise to our transplant teams that we will protect them so they can do\ntheir life-saving work without worrying how they will get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mission\nAccepted<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nmoments preceding a phone call placed to GrandView dispatch to arrange an organ\nflyout are coordinated by the OPO. \u201cAn organ offer comes into The LLF\u2019s\ncommunication center and is reviewed by the coordinator and with the surgeon.\nOnce an organ is officially accepted, we start looking at the transportation\npiece,\u201d explained Kate LoVerdi, manager of donor services at The LLF. The OPO then evaluates helicopter and fixed\nwing availability based upon operating room times. \u201cOnce an aircraft has been\nsecured, we arrange transportation of the surgical team (if necessary) from the\nhospital to the airport, then communicate all pertinent timeframes with the\nrecovery team and perfusionist. We also communicate with the host OPO with\nflight information,\u201d said LoVerdi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once\nthe flight details are confirmed, GrandView goes to work. Flight crews are\ndispatched and complete detailed flight risk assessments. Weather concerns,\nrunway conditions, crew fatigue, airport or routing challenges are all scored,\nthen reviewed by GrandView\u2019s coordination center and Operations Management.\nFlight Coordinators, in the middle of the night and in potentially rural areas,\nhave to solve complex challenges like arranging fuel, entry and exit of the\nsurgical teams, and meals for the transplant team. \u201cIt\u2019s not for the faint of\nheart. Any small detail missed can have a devastating impact on the person and family\nwaiting for that life-saving gift. I\u2019m so incredibly proud of how our team\nhandles these complex tasks with calm determination,\u201d said Naor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nGrandView never fails to uphold its coveted safety standards with dual piloted\noperations, there are occasions where the organs fly solo without medical\nstaff. \u201cThe pilots remain in close contact with our coordinators to ensure the\norgan reaches the waiting recipient. We can only do this because of the immense\ntrust we have with the Grandview team,\u201d said McRann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pandemic\nPrecautions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n COVID-19\nprompted another layer of preparedness necessary to maintain a coordinated\neffort already plagued with complexities. The LLF and GrandView have continued\nto adapt to the pandemic crisis with dedicated safety measures employed to\nprotect the continuity of their lifesaving relationship. GrandView Aviation\u2019s\nflight crews are being vaccinated against COVID-19, with full vaccinations\nexpected by the end of February, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\ndeveloped a Covid Evaluation Response Team to address any contact or exposure\nto ensure the safety of our staff. We secured Covid-19 testing for all organ\ndonors to maximize donation opportunities and keep our transplant recipients\nsafe,\u201d said McRann. \u201cOur facilities team mobilized to ensure protective\nequipment was optimized; Grandview supported this effort by donating masks to\nThe LLF. Some of our external partners had interruptions such as suspending\nelective surgeries, but we were able to navigate these challenges and continue\nour life-saving and healing mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\nNew Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nwaitlist for organ transplants serves as an evergreen reminder of the need for\ndedicated aircraft programs like GrandView Aviation to continue to highlight\nthe lifesaving opportunities made available by the business aviation community.\nThe unprecedented events of the past year have tested the foundations of\nGeneral Aviation, but missions that would otherwise be deemed impossible if it\nwere not for the people and aircraft unified in this unrelenting industry, have\ncontinued to conquer sentiment dismissing the value of private aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach\nday, we are presented with an opportunity to make a difference to a family\nfacing one of their hardest days. As stewards of this gift, we provide grief\nsupport, we collaborate with our donor hospital partners, we educate the\ncommunity, we provide clinical excellence in evaluation, management, and\nrecovery, and we give hope to waiting recipients,\u201d said McRann. \u201cSo many\ndetails must be coordinated to make donation and transplantation happen; it\u2019s\nrewarding to be a part of that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While\npilots are uplifting fuel prior to their organ flyouts, they are also helping\nto uplift lives in the process. \u201cOrgan missions are a little bittersweet. On the\none hand, we know that for an organ to become available a life was lost. But on\nthe other hand, we have the honor of being part of the process that springs\nhope from that loss,\u201d said Ben Zwebner, Chief Pilot at GrandView. \u201cSure, we\naren’t the doctors who are doing the work of miracles in the operating room,\nbut we get to play a small part in the process of saving a human life. At the\nend of the day, that is a very special thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While business aviation sometimes conjures images of an industry reserved solely for the elite, there remains a segment that trades the champagne glasses and Instagram worthy catering for life-saving machines and organs. Time stands relentlessly as a critical factor in the successful transition from a failing human heart to a vibrant, long life. The transport […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-slider","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Grandviewedit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17605"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17612,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17605\/revisions\/17612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/thumbnail-1024x684.jpg\")
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