St. John's Life Line staff announce at a Jan. 18 news conference that Life Line's two BO-105 twin-engine aircraft will be replaced this year with two leased EC-135 twin-engine helicopters, which reaches maximum speeds of 180 miles per hour, and average cruise speeds of 135 miles per hour.

"The new helicopters are faster, bigger, quieter, and have a much greater lift capacity," said Life Line medical director Charles Sheppard, M.D. "It's new technology, and the chief flight nurse (D.J. Satterfield, RN, BSN, CEN) and I will now be able to ride along for monitoring purposes for the first time."

St. John's employs 30 Life Line staff members, Satterfield said.

The old helicopters accommodate a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic, Sheppard said. The new EC-135s have room for a fourth person.

Satterfield said the new helicopters will also allow Life Line to establish a ride-along program for emergency physicians, nurses and paramedics.

"We always look for ways to provide seamless service from the air to the ground, and a ride-along program to show those on the ground what we do in the helicopter will help with that," Satterfield said.

The first new helicopter is virtually brand-new, with only 1,600 flight hours. It is based at St. John's Regional Health Center and began flights Jan. 22. It replaced St. John's original helicopter, known as Hammons Life Line, that was purchased for the hospital in 1984 by Springfield businessman John Q. Hammons. That helicopter replaced the leased St. Robert helicopter.

The second new helicopter, which Sheppard estimates will have 50 flight hours when it joins St. John's in the fall, will then replace Hammons Life Line in St. Robert. Sheppard said the health system will keep Hammons Life Line as a back-up for the two new leased helicopters.