[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 29 (Thursday, February 15, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1998-S1999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING THREE MONTANA HEROES

  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, Saint Luke explains in his Gospel:

       The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath sent me 
     to heal.

  Delivering care to the sick and injured is the Lord's work. To heal 
the sick at great risk to one's own safety reflects the best that we 
can be as the Lord's servants.
  I am here to honor three healers from my home State of Montana--
ambulance pilot Vince Kirol, paramedic and firefighter Paul Erikson, 
and registered nurse Darcy Doyle. These Montana heroes died tragically 
during an air rescue mission on February 6.
  Their deaths are a tremendous loss to their families, to Benefits 
Healthcare, and to all of Montana. These dedicated individuals were en 
route to Bozeman from Great Falls in dangerous weather to pick up a 
patient who had suffered a severe head injury that required immediate 
surgery.
  Every minute counted. The victim's injury had to be treated as 
quickly as possible. The longer it took to get him to the hospital, the 
worse his chances were for survival. The only way to get the patient 
the care he needed was by air transport. So the dependable air 
ambulance team at Benefits Healthcare was called. Vince, Paul, and 
Darcy responded to the call without hesitation and without concern for 
their own safety.
  They knew that somebody's life was hanging in the balance. This is 
the type of pressure-filled situation in which they have always 
operated.
  Montana is a large State, it is a beautiful State, with rural and 
isolated areas, where people who are injured may need immediate rescue, 
may need it right away, including air ambulance transportation to a 
trauma center.
  Unfortunately, there are not enough hospitals in Montana that can 
give the kind of care someone with severe injuries immediately needs.
  So-called level 1 hospitals have operating rooms, surgeons, and 
radiologists available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, waiting and ready 
for any patient with severe injuries who is brought in. There are no 
level 1 hospitals in Montana.
  Level 2 hospitals have the right facilities, but the doctors are not 
in the hospital around the clock to be available immediately when a 
patient arrives. There are only three level 2 trauma centers in 
Montana.
  It is very expensive to run hospitals and offer this high-level, 
specialized care. Only three hospitals in Montana--one in Missoula, one 
in Billings, and one in Great Falls--offer such services, so every 
patient who needs a trauma center has to go to one of these hospitals. 
This makes air ambulance transportation even more important, given 
Montana's 800-mile span and mountainous terrain.
  The Benefits medevac program provides 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week 
air ambulance transportation in Montana and the Northwest. Aircraft 
respond to isolated areas, accident scenes, and hospitals to bring 
patients to the regional emergency center as quickly as possible.
  These dedicated pilots, nurses, and paramedics who operate the 
Benefits medevac program provide honorable and essential services to 
Montana. The three Benefits professionals who lost their lives last 
week were trying to do just that.
  Darcy Dengel was a 27-year-old registered nurse. She joined Benefits 
in June 2001 and transferred to the emergency room in August 2003, 
where she also worked as a flight nurse.
  Her Benefits colleagues describe her as a bright, talented, and 
vibrant woman who loved her work because that work gave her a unique 
opportunity to help people in need.
  She was able to make a difficult time for a patient a little easier 
with her gentle care. She was to be married this spring to Rob Beal and 
is survived by parents Rich and Donna Dengel of Lewistown, MT.
  A long-time friend of Darcy Dengel's family described Darcy this way:


[[Page S1999]]


       She was a light . . . She didn't worry about danger in her 
     work as a flight nurse. She wanted to help people.

  Paul Erickson was 33 years old and was the medic on the flight. Paul 
was a firefighter who worked on the Mercy Flight on his days off. He 
worked side by side with his wife Rachelle, who is the trauma 
coordinator for Benefits. They had a baby boy last July named Spencer 
Pilot.
  Assistant fire chief Steve Hester said this of his colleague:

       Paul considered it a service to the community. He was all 
     about service to others. He knew that in rural Montana the 
     only way you can get help sometimes is by air.

  Vince Kirol was 58 years old and had been flying for 40 years. He was 
a Mercy Flight fixed-wing pilot for 13 years after working for Metro 
Aviation in Shreveport, LA. He is survived by his wife Diana and two 
sons. Vince's pastor noted that he loved the mountains and he loved 
skiing and hiking with his sons.
  Billy Darnell, a friend of Vince's from his church, said this about 
him:

       He cared about people. That's why he loved his job.

  Darcy, Paul, and Vince selflessly put their lives at risk, 
transporting critically ill patients even in perilous weather 
conditions. They gave their own lives trying to save others. Their 
deaths are a tremendous loss to Montana. They were good servants, and 
they are heroes. Our hearts and our prayers go out to their families 
and to their friends.
  Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Salazar). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The senior Senator from New Jersey is recognized.

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