Copter drops in with lesson BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer ANDREW MILLER staff Howell Memorial Middle School pupils learn about the services that are provided by a MONOC emergency medical services helicopter during a visit to the school by the crew of the aircraft on Nov. 1. HOWELL - The cliché "the sky's the limit" became literal for some Howell Memorial Middle School students on Nov. 1 as they were visited by the Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp.'s (MONOC) medical crew in an $5 million helicopter. The health-care professionals who operate the aircraft and respond to health emergencies were brought to the pupils by parent and Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, registered nurse Lori Benedetti as part of the Howell K-8 School District's health awareness program. "This is a different type of medicine that a lot of people are not aware of," Benedetti said, adding, "I just want to show them a different aspect of nursing." Principal Chuck Welsh said the program was offered to the students in the hopes that "our kids develop an appreciation for the efforts of the people in the health-care industry to take care of the situations that might occur in accidents, and to make them understand the hard work these people do, and to possibly influence them in terms of careers or at least expose them to a part of the healthcare industry." Vice Principal Dheranie Suarez said, "We have a lot of students who are going to apply to the [specialized] learning programs in the Freehold Regional High School District. This might spark some in- terest in those who are interested in health care and in those who do not know what they are interested in." A group of about 200 students and staff members had a chance to experience the German and French Eurocopter and its amenities. Upon entering the helicopter they were surrounded by state-of-the-art equipment such as digital radios, two infusion pumps that are used to give patients intravenous medications, stretchers, cardiac monitors and other equipment that can monitor a maximum of two patients' vital signs. According to Chief Flight Paramedic Steven Olsen, MONOC conducts outreach programs throughout the year for fire companies, emergency medical services units, volunteer first-aid squads, hospitals and schools. The unit that is configured with a critical care flight nurse and critical care paramedic travels just about anywhere where a critical care response is needed. "We have been to New York, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., wherever the need is," Olsen said. "We respond to 911 calls such as motor vehicle accidents. We also respond to critical care facilities where someone who is at a smaller hospital needs to be transported for specialized care at a larger facility. We would pick them up and transport them." Olsen, who has been a paramedic for 26 years and flying for 12 years, said he hoped the exposure the students received to this particular career would interest them. "There is a lot of education required. Students have to do well in their science studies in high school. If this is what they are interested in they should work toward it, whether they want to be a flight nurse or flight paramedic," he said. "It is a very rewarding career and it is very challenging. However, there are a lot of positive attributes to it. It is not a regular nine-to-five job." Eighth-graders Angela Anzevino and Alexis Corralizpa said they found the helicopter to be very cool. They said this was their first experience on a helicopter. From the look on their faces it seems safe to say both girls enjoyed the new experience. The consensus among the students who got to be part of the visit from the MONOC helicopter was that the entire experience was, in their words, "pretty cool."