Cal-Ore Life Flight

03/09/2026

INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day!
Celebrating the Women of EMS

Today we celebrate the incredible women of our team and across our country. Your dedication, resilience, and leadership make a meaningful difference every single day. Through your hard work, compassion, and commitment to excellence, you strengthen our organization and positively impact the communities we serve. We are truly honored and grateful to have you as part of our team. Thank you for all that you do and for your continued service—we appreciate you today and always.

03/04/2026

Cal-Ore Life Flight is proud to donate an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) along with medical trauma bags to help equip the Klamath Fire Quick Response vehicle. This contribution is part of our ongoing commitment to supporting local emergency responders and strengthening community readiness. The added resources will help ensure that first responders have the tools they need to provide rapid, effective care during critical moments. We thank the Klamath Fire volunteers for their dedicated service to our community.

03/03/2026

Exciting news from Cal-Ore Life Flight! We're thrilled to announce a major leap forward in our clinical training program with the adoption of SimX Virtual Reality Medical Simulation! 🚀👨‍⚕️

This incredible initiative was sparked by the dedicated leadership of CJ Janisse, RN (ACV base) and Anna Mazon, RN (Regional Clinical Manager) after their experience at the Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) 2024. Their vision is bringing state-of-the-art immersive training right to our crews! We're also incredibly thankful for Shellee Magnuson, RN (CEC base), who will be instrumental in rolling out this powerful new system to ensure seamless integration and enhanced learning for our flight nurses and paramedics.

SimX VR allows our teams to practice complex, high-stakes scenarios in a realistic, risk-free virtual environment. This isn't just about learning procedures; it's about sharpening critical thinking, enhancing teamwork, and making life-saving decisions under pressure. This innovation means even better patient care for our communities!

What is SimX?
For those unfamiliar, SimX is the world’s leading Virtual Reality (VR) Medical Simulation platform. It replaces plastic dummies with "live" interactive patient in a virtual environment.

Wireless Freedom: Clinicians wear VR headsets, allowing them to move naturally around a virtual patient in a 360-degree environment.

Dynamic Physiological Response: Unlike a manikin, a SimX patient can talk, bleed, and show real-time changes in skin color or vital signs based on the provider's actions.

Multi-User Training: The system allows multiple clinicians (e.g., a nurse and a paramedic) to work on the same patient simultaneously, even if they are at different bases.

Advancing Critical Thinking Skills
While technical skills are important, the primary goal for the Cal-Ore team is to sharpen critical thinking. In flight medicine, the environment is cramped, loud, and high-pressure. SimX advances these skills in three key ways:

1. Recognition and Decision Making
In a VR scenario, the patient doesn’t wait for you. If a clinician misses a subtle sign of respiratory distress, the patient’s condition will deteriorate in real-time. This forces the RNs and Paramedics to engage in "rapid-cycle" decision-making, choosing the best intervention under stress.

2. High-Fidelity Cognitive Load
SimX simulates the "noise" of a real flight. By replicating the visual and auditory distractions of a helicopter cabin or a busy crash site, it trains the brain to filter out distractions and focus on the most critical life-saving tasks—a process known as reducing cognitive load.

3. Reflective Debriefing
Every SimX session is recorded with a "God-view" for instructors like Anna, CJ, Dr. Montano and Shellee. The team can sit down immediately afterward to watch their performance, analyze why certain decisions were made, and discuss how to optimize patient care in the future.

https://youtu.be/EYzxsABiWIc?si=8HJayRHGRaKoPs9a

03/02/2026

February was American Heart Month, a nationwide effort that spotlights cardiovascular disease and highlights the urgent need for more lifesavers in our communities. This annual observance serves as an important reminder of the impact heart disease has on countless families, and it reinforces the value of preparedness, education, and early intervention. We encourage everyone to join the Nation of Lifesavers and take the time to learn CPR—an action that can quite literally make the difference between life and death.

Throughout February, Cal-Ore Life Flight proudly certified 140 individuals in CPR/AED training. Of those, 75 were First Responders and 65 were lay rescuers representing both Curry County and Del Norte County. We are incredibly grateful for the strong participation and commitment demonstrated by community members and emergency personnel alike.

In addition to training efforts, Cal-Ore Life Flight donated 10 AEDs to local agencies, including: Sixes Volunteer Fire Department, Langlois Rural Fire Protection District, Cedar Valley Fire Department, Pistol River Fire Department, Agness Illahe Fire & Rescue, and Curry County Search & Rescue. These AEDs will enhance emergency response capabilities and ensure that more lifesaving resources are available when and where they are needed most.

We extend our sincere appreciation to all the First Responders in Curry County for their continued support, dedication, and partnership. Your service, compassion, and unwavering commitment to our communities do not go unnoticed. Thank you for everything you do—we truly could not accomplish this work without your assistance.

02/27/2026

02/27/2026

Brandon Amis, Flight Paramedic for Cal-Ore Life Flight and his three daughters, competed at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Sacramento International Open. Brandon took 2nd place in his division, and all 3 of his daughters placed 1st in their divisions. These are qualifiers for the IBJJF World Championships in Las Vegas in September. Here are some pictures and a video of their weekend.

02/27/2026

Night to Shine in Del Norte County is a free annual prom-style event for people with special needs (ages 14+), sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation and held near Valentine's Day. The 2026 event welcomed over 250 guests with a red carpet, dinner, dancing, and a crowning ceremony. We would like to thank all the dedicated volunteers who made it possible.

02/20/2026

Inclement weather conditions such as fog, snow, freezing temperatures, and heavy rainfall can impair visibility and increase the risk of encountering road hazards. This video offers essential guidance on managing these situations to maintain safety while driving.

Fog, snow, freezing temperatures and heavy rain may affect your ability to see the road or safely avoid road hazards. This video provides some simple tips fo...

02/19/2026

Cal-Ore Life Flight REMS Team would like to extend our appreciation to the Coos Forest Protective Association Team for hosting an outstanding map reading class designed to support First Responders. The session provided valuable instruction on the use of available mapping applications, along with detailed guidance on practical map reading techniques that are essential during field operations.

One of our primary goals was to streamline mapping processes across multiple jurisdictions to help improve response times, strengthen coordination, and enhance overall operational efficiency. This training directly supported that objective by giving our team the opportunity to deepen our skills, ask questions, and gain clarity on tools and methods that are critical during emergency responses.

The class was exceptionally informative, and we greatly benefited from the knowledge shared.

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02/10/2026

Cal-Ore Life Flight is excited to announce that King Air B200 N858GF is officially in service at the Humboldt base as of 2/8/26. This marks an important milestone for the team, as the aircraft completed its first medical flight at 0730 hours, demonstrating its readiness to support regional operations and patient transport needs. Pilots and flight crews have expressed tremendous enthusiasm about the new addition to the fleet, noting the increased capabilities and reliability it brings to our mission.