PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Patient AirLift Services, the charity service that flies people in rural areas who need specialized healthcare for free, is working to continue providing medical charity flights from Presque Isle to Boston and other cities.
“With PenAir leaving and United coming in, it provides a very big hole for those people that need to access treatment in the Boston area,” said Eileen Minogue, executive director of Patient AirLift Services, or PALS.
PALS, founded in 2010, serves patients from rural communities around the Northeast, helping them access treatment in large metropolitan areas through commercial airlines, such as PenAir and United, and private volunteer pilots.
In 2016, PALS secured free flights for well over 300 patients in northern Maine, with 147 flights on PenAir and 185 flights with private pilots, Minogue said. All of those flights had at least one patient, she said.
Minogue said PALS estimates that about 90 percent of patients flying out of Presque Isle go to Boston for treatment, while others go to advanced medical centers in other East Coast cities.
In March, the U.S. Department of Transportation decided to award United Airlines the contract for federally-subsidized Essential Air Service from Presque Isle’s Northern Maine Regional Airport, following the recommendation of the Presque Isle City Council.
Starting in July, United will provide 12 round trip flights per week between Presque Isle and Newark Liberty International Airport with a 50-seat jet, replacing that Boston-Presque Isle service that PenAir has provided since 2012.
The decision to support United’s bid upset many Aroostook County residents who travel to Boston for specialized medical care or with family members who have done so. Some people flying PenAir to Boston for healthcare pay their own way, while others receive a free trip through PALS.
Minogue said that PALS opposed the decision to change Presque Isle’s service to Newark since so many northern Maine patients served by the organization receive treatment in Boston.
“Logistically, it’s not going to work for the people who are being treated in Boston,” she said of the new Newark destination.
But since the decision for United is final for at least the next two years, Minogue said PALS is working to find solutions that will work, including coordinating more private flights to Boston and working with United to fly patients who want to get treatment in the New York City area.
“If we can open a really good relationship with United and people can get their treatment in New York, we’ll do that,” Minogue said. “If somebody’s starting new and can get their treatment in New York, that could work.”
Minogue said that PALS will be able to continue providing flights to Boston, if perhaps less frequently, thanks to a dedicated network of private pilots who fly their own planes as volunteers.
One pilot, Jim Platz of Auburn, has made more than 4,000 flights over the last eight years for Mainers and patients in other states, Minogue said.
“We’re surveying our volunteer pilots to find their best availabilities.” Right now, she said, it’s likely that PALS flights from Presque Isle to Boston will be available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“If there are people that are looking for flights, give us a call, because we’re trying to do everything we can to fill these flights,” Minogue said. “We’re not going anywhere and we’re going to do our best to support the community.”
Flights through PALS are free and available to patients based on their needs, Minogue said.
“We ask income on the intake and use a number of factors to determine if they qualify,” she said.
“Our pilots use their own resources to fly those in need so we ask if the patients could afford to pay for transportation they do so. That being said someone might be able to afford one flight, but with chronic illnesses it can financially strap you.”
For more information, visit http://www.palservices.org/ or call 631-694-7257.
