FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A local group of pilots is doing their part in speeding up results for COVID-19 tests.
Angel Flight Soars’ volunteers are flying test specimens to a national lab in Nashville, Tennessee.
In his free time, orthopedic surgeon Dickson Schaefer loves flying planes.
“Just for fun, I used to fly with six to eight guys on the weekend to get a hamburger somewhere. In aviation, we call it the $100 hamburger,” said Dr. Schaefer.
He also uses his hobby to help others.
On Saturday, he flew test specimens from Fayetteville to Asheville. A different pilot then carried them to Nashville, Tennessee to be tested in a national lab for COVID-19.
“It’s nice to actually get to go fly somewhere on the weekend and somebody else benefit from it,” said Dr. Schaefer.
Before now, Cape Fear Valley Health patients have been waiting up to three days for results if tested during the weekends since commercial courier flights weren’t available.
“I was eager and the guys we talked to were eager,” said Ben Cason, volunteer with Angel Flight Soars. “Actually, we had more guys that wanted to do them and are on the waiting list when more open up.”
Dr. Schaefer’s family came for the first send-off at Fayetteville Regional Airport on Saturday.
“He does a lot for the community, so I feel like we should support him and what he does,” said one of his children.
His daughter Katie Bullard is a nurse and knows firsthand how important this task is. Medical professionals can use less personal protective equipment when patients test negative for COVID-19, so it’s beneficial to get results faster.”That helps us be able to conserve that PPE that all these hospitals are short on right now,” said Bullard.
Angel Flight Soars will continue running flights out of Fayetteville Regional Airport every weekend throughout the pandemic.
The main obstacle they have to keep an eye out for is bad weather.
Along with helping in emergencies like this pandemic, Angel Flight Soars coordinates free flights for people in need of lifesaving medical treatment.
