On Wednesday, April 16, ECU Health’s EastCare celebrated a remarkable milestone: 40 years of dedicated service to the communities of eastern North Carolina. Founded in 1985, the program has grown from a single helicopter operation to a comprehensive medical transport service, offering both ground and air transportation.
EastCare transports patients directly from the scene of an emergency or transfers them from regional hospitals to ECU Health Medical Center, ensuring that critically ill and injured patients receive timely and advanced medical care.
Today, the program operates seven aircraft, with five in use and two back-ups. With eight bases within the region — both ground and air — and 28 ambulances, coverage has expanded to include all of eastern North Carolina as well as parts of South Carolina and Virginia.
Trey Labrecque, director of EastCare, praised the team for its tireless effort in critical roles. “The way our clinicians go above and beyond what’s required in their aspects of training has always impressed me. They put their lives in danger every day they come to work to transport patients by air or by ground.” He noted the team’s dedication is unmatched, often working beyond their normal shifts to care for patients.
This dedication is a common theme within the team. Shannon Petty, flight nurse with EastCare, highlighted their adaptability: “Even when helicopters are down for maintenance and a call comes in, the team will jump in an ambulance and do exactly what they would have done by air. We are one of the very few programs in the country that does that consistently.”
The EastCare team’s advanced training enables them to provide lifesaving interventions for trauma, cardiac, medical, high-risk obstetric, burn and pediatric patients. The program also operates a unit dedicated to children’s transport. Partnering with the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Transport Team provides care to more than 1,700 children each year.
Joshua Dail, flight paramedic with EastCare, shared a story about the constantly changing nature of the job: “We did a standby for a local law enforcement high-profile situation and sat there all day. At the end of the day, a family and their little boy who was unconscious after a traumatic accident arrived at a rural emergency department that is not accustomed to providing the care he needed. We immediately shifted gears and hopped in and took care of this little kid, which involved a lot of resources on our part, and then flew him to the Medical Center, where he had brain surgery and a good outcome. Bringing services to patients that otherwise wouldn’t have access to them is the most rewarding part of my job.”
EastCare goes beyond patient transport, stepping up when disaster strikes. “During hurricanes, access to affected areas is often restricted, making it difficult for physicians and nurses to reach state medical assistant teams. Our teams has flown physicians and nurses to those areas and delivered critical supplies to places experiencing shortages,” shared Chuck Strickland, outreach coordinator for EastCare.
Dail emphasized the strong teamwork demonstrated every day with the EastCare team: “None of us can do our job without the other. In the helicopter, we are always looking out for any potential dangers, offering to help with various tasks and supporting each other during every flight. And then at the bedside, we are a clinical team, so we’re collaborating and figuring out how to best care for our patients.”
Over the past decade, the program has achieved significant milestones:
- 4,752,768 ground miles
- 3,558,196 air miles
- 35,292 flights
- Transported patients from 66 unique hospitals by air
- Transported patients from 87 unique hospitals by ground
These numbers represent thousands of lives saved and countless families supported during their most challenging times. By providing a lifeline to patients with limited access to care, EastCare exemplifies the ECU Health mission every day. Whether it’s a basic life support transport or a critical care transport, the team ensures that every individual receives the care they need.
The 40th anniversary was celebrated at a special event held at ECU Health Medical Center, where team members and community members came together to honor the achievements of the EastCare team. As we celebrate the four decades of incredible service, we honor the work of the EastCare team and the profound difference they make in eastern North Carolina communities. Here’s to 40 years of lifesaving service – and many more to come.