[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15911]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE FLIGHT FOR LIFE TEAM OF COLORADO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB BEAUPREZ

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 13, 2005

  Mr. BEAUPREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the tremendously 
dedicated and talented group of professionals who make up the St. 
Anthony Hospitals Flight for Life team of Colorado.
  Specifically, I want to thank and honor the flight crew that allowed 
me to join them on Saturday, June 18th: Flight Nurse Hollie Seeley, 
Medic Vance Silvia, and Pilot Jeff Warner. Having the opportunity to 
spend a mere four hours with these remarkable individuals was certainly 
enough to realize that, on any given day, there are angels in the skies 
over Colorado.
  Responding to everything from car accidents to farm accidents, Flight 
for Life has not only saved countless lives of the people of Colorado 
and the surrounding states, they've enabled those citizens who live far 
from a metro area to enjoy the small town quality of Colorado and the 
West while not totally losing access to world class medical care.
  Established in October 1972, Flight for Life was the first hospital-
based civilian emergency air ambulance program in the Nation. During 
its 30-year history, Flight for Life has logged more than 75,000 
missions and has become the model for the nearly 200 air ambulance 
programs worldwide, and is still considered a leader in its field.
  Serving every community in the great state of Colorado and the 
surrounding seven states, Flight for Life is the biggest and busiest 
critical care air transport program in Colorado, transporting patients 
to any appropriate medical facility.
  Flight for Life's reputation is second only to its dedicated crew. 
Located across the state in Denver, Frisco, Colorado Springs and 
Pueblo, the crew consists of 31 flight registered nurses, 27 flight 
paramedics, 14 helicopter pilots, 6 fixed-wing pilots, 6 helicopter 
mechanics, 10 emergency medical technicians (EMT), and 10 
communications specialists.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of Flight for Life in Colorado are not only 
talented professionals, but they are indeed public servants who deserve 
our admiration. I join the large number of Coloradans and others across 
the country who have been positively affected by these people in saying 
a well-deserved ``thank you'' for all that they do to serve and protect 
our citizens.

                          ____________________