EFFINGHAM, IL, May 8, 2024 – Celebrating two decades of providing life-saving care to the South Central Illinois region, ARCH 3 in Effingham held an intimate community gathering to mark the anniversary. Crew members, past and present, and community members came together at the ARCH Air Medical Base on May 4 to celebrate this major milestone.
“Our 20 years of service demonstrates our unwavering commitment to the community,” said Aaron Bradshaw, regional sales director for Air Methods, the parent company of ARCH 3. “Everyone from our nurses and paramedics to our pilots and mechanics are highly certified and train annually to ensure not only that the base remains service-ready but most importantly that our patients receive the safest and best critical care regardless of the situation.”
Among the guests in attendance was former patient Joshua Timmons, who was transported by ARCH 3 to Springfield Hospital in the summer of 2023 following a motorcycle crash with his wife on the way home from dinner with friends. Given the extent of his injuries, he underwent multiple surgeries over several months to mend a full arm and collarbone injuries. Almost a year later, Timmons is mostly recovered and back to work as a mechanic.
“We are grateful for all of the first responders who helped provide care, ,” said Timmons’ wife Ashley Timmons. “We are grateful to be recovered and celebrating with the crew on their 20 years serving the community. We’ve seen their service firsthand and we’re so grateful they responded to the call that day.”
Also in attendance was former patient Angie Rinkel, who was transported by ARCH 3 in April 2021 following complications after open-heart surgery. Just three days after returning home from the hospital after open-heart surgery, her husband took her to the emergency room in Effingham where the doctors diagnosed her with a saddle pulmonary embolism and contacted ARCH 3 to transport her to St. John’s hospital in Springfield.
“I’m forever grateful to the ARCH 3 crew that transported me,” said Rinkel. “I owe them my life. It was scary being flown off without my husband, but the clinicians kept me calm when I needed it most.”
ARCH 3 is led by clinicians who are highly trained in pediatrics, high-risk OBGYN care, and specialized transport. Additionally, they offer heated and humidified high-flow oxygen support for both adults and children and carry whole blood during flights, ensuring access to crucial components like red blood cells, platelets, plasma, and clotting factors for patients facing trauma or hemorrhagic shock. Moreover, their aircraft is equipped to safely transport cardiac patients in need of Impella heart pump support during emergencies related to heart failure.
“When you serve in small, rural communities like we do, calls become personal,” said ARCH 3 Flight Paramedic Taylor Postin. “Twenty years of service to this community means our patients know that if they need our top-level care, they can count on us to be there.”
While 10 bases help to complete the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) ecosystem throughout Missouri and Illinois, ARCH 3 is one of seven locations branded under the ARCH Air Medical program—a subsidiary of Air Methods, the leading air medical service provider in the U.S. This year, the overarching ARCH Air Medical program celebrates 45 years of service throughout the state of Illinois and Missouri providing lifesaving service to those who need it most. All 10 HEMS locations are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS).
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