Murphys, CA…On Saturday, March 11, 2017, the 8th Annual Mark Twain Health Fair will take place at Ironstone Vineyards from 8 a.m. to noon, featuring the presence of 20 community health related organizations, not to mention a helicopter landing! The free health fair will offer low-cost medical tests as well as free information on topics such as senior health services, health insurance, nutrition, and fitness. Medical services available include blood analysis ($45) and bone density screenings ($20). The five-panel blood analysis consists of a chemistry panel, thyroid, complete blood count, lipid panel, iron for women, and PSA for men. The test now also includes screening for vitamin D deficiencies. This year, we are pleased to announce that PHI Air Medical will take part in the fair and will coordinate the landing of a helicopter at Ironstone at 8:30am. The flight medic, pilot, and flight nurse will be available to answer questions about PHI, and a PHI booth will be present at the fair to allow people to register with their service.

“Not only is the transport faster than going by ground, sometimes cutting transport times by 1-3 hours down to minutes, but the level of expertise our flight crews provide is second to none,” stated Jennifer Holly, Air Medical Base Supervisor at PHI Air Medical in Columbia. “We work hand in hand with first responders – EMS, fire and law enforcement, community leaders, hospital personnel and dispatch professionals to ensure that patients are transported to the right hospital for the right care by the right physician.”

“PHI Med 4-2, located at the Columbia Airport, is truly a ‘local’ crew, with the majority of our staff living in Tuolumne County. Med 4-2 takes pride in supporting our local communities, not only with medical transports, but in events that benefit the community.”

The helicopter landing was coordinated by Steve Woodruff, Ironstone’s head of security. Helicopter medical transport played an especially crucial role in Woodruff’s life as it helped save his daughter’s life eighteen years ago, after she was involved in a head-on collision and was transported to a hospital via helicopter. Steve hopes that PHI’s presence at the health fair will help spread awareness of the life-saving services they offer.

For more information about the event, please contact nicki.stevens@dignityhealth.org.