Lakes Region EMS and LifeLink III partner to save lives

New ambulance base at Rush City airport benefits central Minnesota and western Wisconsin

by Tesha M. Christensen

Every day, the Lakes Region EMS touches lives throughout central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Courtesy of a new hangar and EMS base at the Rush City airport, a medical helicopter has been added to the list of how Lakes Region EMS benefits the community.

With the LifeLink III air ambulance team stationed in Rush City four varying days a week for 10-hour days, the level of medical care has been enhanced. Air travel will cut time from many situations, saving minutes that can be the difference between fatality and survival.

Serious accidents are a small percentage of what the LifeLink helicopter helps with in the area, according to Michelle Anderson, education and community outreach manager for Lakes Region EMS. More frequently, the helicopter is used to more quickly transport those who have suffered a heart attack or stroke down to hospitals in the Twin Cities.

The thing is, you never know when you might really benefit from having a helicopter close.

The Rush City community found that out in 2015 when 14-year-old Jared Loomis collapsed in gym class.

His heart had stopped.

The ninth-grader was found lying unresponsive in the west lawn of the high school campus around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. School staff began CPR, until Sgt. Jason Foster and Lake Region EMS staff took over.

The Life Link III helicopter happened to be stationed in the North Branch area that day. Its main base is in Anoka.

The helicopter soon landed on-site and airlifted Loomis to Children’s Hospital in St. Paul. He arrived in just 30 minutes. An MRI diagnosed his issue, and a defibrillator was put inside his chest to prevent life-threatening abnormally fast heart rhythms.

Thanks in part to the LifeLink helicopter, Jared Loomis is among the 1 percent of those who can resume a normal life after experiencing a heart episode like that. He made a full recovery.

NEW RUSH CITY BASE

According to LREMS Executive Director Aaron Reinert, the new hanger and base at Rush City Airport has brought hope to the community.

In 2016, Reinert knew that one of the greatest needs for LREMS was to replace the aging Rush City base. Built in the early 1980s, the structure had window and foundation leaks, and issues with the sewer lines. Yet all the different options LREMS had explored exceeded the limited financial resources available.

Lakes Region EMS does not receive any taxpayer subsidy, and self-funds operations through fees and insurance payments.

“Hope showed itself in the form of an incredibly generous donation from a local community resident, a business owner and philanthropist by the name of Dennis Frandsen,” said Reinert.

Frandsen owned an 80x80-foot hangar at the Rush City airport, and agreed to donate it to LREMS -- and provide additional resources to renovate it. The hanger already had a garage door on the non-air side of the airport that was a perfect fit for moving an ambulance in and out. Plus, it had some crew comfort such as a kitchen, bathrooms, and crew rest area, in addition to space for an aircraft.

Lakes Region took possession of the hangar in January 2016, and set about installing a new septic system and drainage system in the floor.

Upon completion, the new base has five sleeping rooms, a second floor for living quarters, and two separate living rooms. LREMS moved in shortly after the 2017 fly-in at the Rush City airport.

In addition to housing the LREMS crew, the hangar has space for the Life Link III air medical members, which include the pilot, flight nurse, the flight paramedic, the EMS paramedic and an EMT.

Life Link III’s advanced providers have years of hospital intensive care, emergency room or 911 experience. Clinical staff members undergo extensive, continual in-service education to ensure the most advanced critical care and technology are provided to any patient requiring specialized care. If needed, specialized teams and/or physicians will accompany Life Link III transport team members.

Within minutes of a request for transport, the Life Link III crews are en route, and interventions are performed in the aircraft when possible to minimize the time before the patient reaches definitive care. Life Link III’s transportation services are accredited by CAMTS (Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transportation Services), ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety are met on every transport.

In January, LifeLink launched OneLink™, a mobile app that allows hospitals and first responders to request air medical transport with the click of a button. Life Link III’s OneLink™ connects a mobile device, tablet or desktop directly to the Life Link III Communication Center to request an aircraft when critical care transport is necessary. All transport requests are transferred immediately to Life Link III’s computer aided dispatch (CAD) system to get the request initiated as quickly as possible – when time is of the essence and the patient condition is critical.

On board, Life Link crews can monitor and treat critically ill or injured patients, such as: multi-system trauma patients; spinal cord injury/neurological patients; head injury patients; high risk obstetrical patients; newborn intensive care patients; cardiac, pulmonary and internal medicine patients; burn patients; limb reattachment patients; transplant patients; and pediatric trauma and medical patients.

Life Link III provides air medical transportation for patients in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and throughout the United States via helicopter and airplane ambulance. It completes over 2,000 patient transports a year.

In 2016, the last year data is available for, LREMS responded to more than 5,106 ambulance requests, a 1% increase from 2015. There were 3,521 emergency patients served and 1,525 hospital transfers.

It isn’t just Chisago County that benefits from having the LifeLink helicopter stationed in Rush City, pointed out Anderson. Polk, Burnett, Pine and Isanti counties are also served by this base, as it touches thousands of people in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Article printed in the Rush City Community Guide. 

Association members beautify their city

North Branch Beautification Association behind banners on Main Street, mural facelift, memorial benches and Holiday Festival

by Tesha M. Christensen

It was a late night, and Laura Scaramell and her daughter Christine Larson were having dinner at the County Market Cafe after a long day at the family business, Empire Insurance Group.

The duo was chatting about an article Larson had written detailing her community and business outlook as North Branch Chamber President.

“At the time, the community was reeling from the Great Recession – people were losing homes and jobs, and Main Street needed a boost. We thought a Beautification Association would bring a much needed positive light to the community,” recalled Scaramell.

The two started meeting with a few others at the County Market cafe to toss around ideas, and the non-profit North Branch Beautification Association was begun in 2012.

“From our very first meetings, our group has grown to a hundred members with projects that were once a vision that are now a reality,” remarked Scaramell.

BANNERS, FLOWERS AND MORE

The group’s first project was installing banners along Main Street. “We focused on this because we wanted to give Main Street a big boost,” explained Scaramell.  Phase Two was banners along “School Lane.” A child from each school designed those banners. “This increased the patriotism for our schools,” said Scaramell.

The Beautification Association has continued to maintain the banners, and is also behind the seasonal decorations on the city’s light poles. The Holiday LED lights and flower baskets are sponsored by families or businesses at $90 a basket. Another mainstay project for the organization is the placement of memorial benches around town.

The group also undertakes projects that are a one-time event. In the past, this has included a farmers’ market to raise funds for beautification projects, and restoring the Coke mural in town.

The facelift for the historic Coke mural was three years in the making. When motorists drive through downtown North Branch they now see a vibrant mural on the side of the Cutting Zone building (6355 Main St.) that pays homage to Coca-Cola’s past. Tony Stafki of Walls of Art LLC retouched the mural that had not been repainted since the 1990s. Generous donors Barb and Michael Nelson launched the project with a $1,800 donation, Coca-Cola added $1,000 and the Darrin Carlson family donated $200.

The group’s next big project is being headed up by Barb Swenson. The Beautification Association has obtained approval from the city, county and state to build a large-scale, strategic planting at the main four-way stop in North Branch at the northwest corner of Highways 61 and 95. 

“We will have a small pathway, flowers, trees and a bench,” stated Scaramell. “We are looking for financial donors for this project, and people to help on this committee.”

For the past two years, the association has organized a Christmas Festival in Central Park. In 2017, Linda Prince, an original member of the Beautification Association, was the Grand Marshal for the first Holiday Light Parade. The parade itself was organized by Linda Gustafson Solle.

“The festival has been a huge success with Tree Lighting Ceremony, food, Christmas shops, a Santa tent, a live nativity sponsored by the Main Street Church, s’more roasting bonfire with free s’mores provided by our organization, games, lit Christmas parade, caroling by Veritas Academy and musical entertainment,” said Scaramell. “The cost and time spent by the many volunteers to put on this event was absorbed by our organization as a way to say ‘thank you’ to the community that supports our endeavors.”

ASSOCIATION PARTNERS WITH CITY

While the Beautification Association is not part of the city, it maintains close ties and works with the city on planning projects. North Branch GIS/Planning Specialist Nate Sondrel serves on the Beautification Association Board. “Nate has been a great liaison for us when we plan projects,” remarked Scaramell. In addition, the city’s municipal utility, North Branch Water and Light, helps hang and/or dismantle banners, install the LED holiday lights winding up the lamp posts, and hang and water the flower baskets in the summer.

“Without them, these precious projects would never have been realized,” said Scaramell. “If you see someone from our municipal utility, please thank them!”

BEAUTY DRAWS RESIDENTS TO LIVE IN NORTH BRANCH

Over the years, the Beautification Association had heard many positive responses from the community and even found out about a delegation that had been touring the city that commented to city officials on the banners and baskets. 

“We have heard from new members who joined our organization that when they were looking for places to live, North Branch stood out because it looked like the people and businesses that lived here cared about the appearance of Main Street,” stated Scaramell. “They told us this was part of their decision to move here.”

WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE COMMON GOOD

Scaramell and Larson are delighted that their late-night talk blossomed into a vibrant and ambitious group that works together for the common good.

Scaramell had been part of a beautification association while living in Long Island, NY, and her two daughters had grown up volunteering for that and other organizations. Scaramell, and her husband Joe relocated to North Branch in 2000 when their two daughters were teenagers.

Christine has been President of the Beautification Association since the very beginning and Scaramell has retained the role of Vice President. “She has been a powerhouse of energy, ideas and leadership that I, as her mom am very proud of,” said Scaramell. “In addition, my husband Joe is basically our ‘Operations Guy’ for lots of behind-the-scenes stuff. He checks the banners on the poles, does electric and lighting at our events, and in the past has cut down 600+ cornstalks for use along Main Street in the fall.”

Others contributing considerable time and passion to the beautification association include Lorie Pinsonneault (Treasurer), Barbara Boelk (Secretary), Linda Prince (Officer), Barb Swenson (Officer), and Nate Sondrol (Officer).

It is these people that she works with and “the positivity of taking our paintbrush and rendering our city a more beautiful place to live and work” that drives Scaramell.

The Beautification Association welcomes new members, and can be reached at BeautificationNB@gmail.com, 651-332-0779, or 6063 Main St; Suite A, Box 8 North Branch MN 55056.

“Come visit us in person at our membership meetings,” encourages Scaramell.

Printed in the 2018 North Branch Community Guide.