CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx \u2014 HALO Flight is breaking ground on a state-of-the-art communications and operations center.<\/p>\n
“Air traffic control, and airplanes flying around you. Oh, and by the way you still have a patient to take care of,” Randy Endsley, Chief Flight Nurse, said.<\/p>\n
Randy Endsley has been a flight nurse with HALO Flight for more than 25 years and says the job is demanding, especially in a tight space, flying high above the ground.<\/p>\n
HALO Flight breaks ground on new facility to enhance emergency medical transport across South Texas<\/p>\n
“But the level of care has to be just as top notch,” Endsley said.<\/p>\n
HALO Flight is the only air ambulance serving South Texas, providing emergency medical transport across the region.<\/p>\n
Right now, they operate six helicopters but can only store three at their current facility.<\/p>\n
“We have a brand new fleet of aircraft, and right now some of the systems we have, we can’t really utilize because our dispatch center is a little out of date,” Travis Patterson, CEO, said.<\/p>\n
But now \u2014 that’s going to change. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for this new facility \u2014 which will allow dispatchers to monitor aircraft systems in real time and assist pilots if something goes wrong mid-flight.<\/p>\n
“So if the pilot has a problem, the dispatch center can help. Right now we can’t utilize all of that equipment because we just don’t have the technology in the current room they’re in,” Patterson said.<\/p>\n
Emergency calls first come through dispatch where Cara Solis says seconds can make the difference.<\/p>\n
“It’s an adrenaline drop when that phone rings to be able to get the call in in a timely manner,” Cara Solis, Director of Communications, said.<\/p>\n
In 2025, more than 1,200 people flew with HALO Flight \u2014 nearly three patients every single day.<\/p>\n
The new building will also feature classrooms and flight simulators for pilot and medical training.<\/p>\n
Travis tells me HALO Flight serves 16 rural and underserved counties where care is not always available.<\/p>\n
“A lot of those places don’t have access to the emergency medical care that they need, if it were not for HALO Flight,” Patterson said.<\/p>\n
HALO Flight is still relying on community donations to help finish the new facility, with hopes to open the doors by next year.<\/p>\n
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