Flight Lines - Corporate Angel Network
Transcripción
Flight Lines - Corporate Angel Network
Flight Lines News for Friends of Corporate Angel Network - Summer, 2012 Corporate Angel Network Provides Milestone 40,000th Cancer Patient Flight On May 7, 2012, Ronda Carter flew on Corporate Angel Network’s 40,000th flight from her home in rural North Carolina to meet with a breast cancer specialist in New York. When asked about her feelings regarding the flight, Ronda said: “Cancer can make a person feel singled out in a negative way. Being the 40,000th passenger makes me feel singled out in a wonderful way. It’s my first trip with CAN and my first corporate flight, for my treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering after being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in January. I’m proud to be a milestone passenger.” This flight was provided by one of the many U.S. corporations that fly cancer patients as part of Corporate Angel Network. Often a patient’s best treatment option is located hundreds of miles from home. Corporate Angel Network (CAN) gives patients access to specialized treatment that would not otherwise be available. By taking a CAN flight, patients avoid the risk of infection and the expense associated with commercial travel. This was the case for CAN’s first flight in 1981 for Michael Burnett. Michael, 18 years old, spent 2 ½ months in a New York hospital, over five hundred miles away from his home in Michigan. He was discharged from the hospital a few days before Christmas with orders from his doctor to avoid commercial travel. CAN was able to provide him with a safe flight home. Ronda Carter with her husband Jeff arriving in New York for treatment. Since that first flight thirty-one years ago, Corporate Angel Network continues to arrange free air transportation for cancer patients traveling to recognized cancer treatment centers throughout the United States by using the empty seats on corporate aircraft flying on routine business. A staff of six, with the help of 35 volunteers, works to match patient requests with the flight schedules of CAN’s 500 participating corporations. FlightSafety International’s Bruce Whitman Named to Corporate Angel Network Board of Directors Bruce Whitman, CAN’s newest board member Bruce N. Whitman, President and CEO of FlightSafety International, has been elected to the Board of Directors of Corporate Angel Network. “Bruce Whitman’s years of aviation industry leadership provide an outstanding basis for the contribution he will make to the work of Corporate Angel Network,” said Randall Greene, CAN’s Chairman of the Board. Bruce has more than 50 years of experience in the aviation industry. He worked for the National Business Aviation Association prior to joining FlightSafety International in 1961 as Assistant to the President. He was appointed President & CEO in 2003. FlightSafety is the world’s premier professional aviation training company and supplier of full flight simulators, visual systems and displays. “It is an honor to help to further the important efforts of Corporate Angel Network as a member of the Board of Directors,” said Bruce. “Having arranged more than 40,000 flights for cancer patients and their family members to date, CAN is a clear demonstration of the generosity and caring that companies and individuals who operate business aircraft have for those in need.” From the Executive Director Corporate Angel Network continues to break records. More cancer patients were helped in the past two years than ever before. In 2010, 3,021 cancer patients were flown to specialized treatment and 2,900 patients were helped in 2011. We’re heading for a banner year in 2012 as well. We celebrated our 40,000th cancer patient flight this May, transporting a patient from rural North Carolina to meet with a breast cancer specialist in New York City. This was an exciting milestone for both CAN’s staff and volunteers. We are pleased to welcome Bruce Whitman to CAN’s Board of Directors. Bruce, the President and CEO of FlightSafety International, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, brings with him a wealth of aviation industry experience. Our thanks to the 500 plus corporations who generously provide empty seats to our cancer patients. Thanks also to our 35 volunteers who diligently work at matching corporate flight schedules with our patient’s need to travel for treatment. It’s this teamwork that makes our service possible. — Peter H. Fleiss Flight Lines Flight Lines Published by Corporate Angel Network, a national public charity under IRC §170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and §509(a) (1) that partners with over 500 U.S. corporations and fractional owners, using the empty seats aboard their aircraft to fly cancer patients to recognized treatment centers, free of charge. Financial need is not a factor in eligibility. Corporate Angel Network Westchester County Airport One Loop Road, White Plains, NY 10604 Tel: (914) 328-1313 • Fax: (914) 328-3938 Toll-Free Patient Line: (866) 328-1313 www.corpangelnetwork.org CAN Visits Hospitals Across the Country As hospital transportation resources dwindle, travel options for cancer patients seeking the best treatment are daunting. Patients are often forced to choose between a long, grueling drive or, if their immune systems will allow, a costly commercial flight. This is where Corporate Angel Network flights make an enormous difference. Susan Cotten is CAN’s Manager of Patient Transport Development. Her job includes traveling to hospitals across the country to educate their staff about CAN’s service. She often hears about patient travel challenges from social workers and directors at these centers. After meeting with the staff at Duke University, case workers offered to tweak patients’ schedules for specialized brain cancer protocols in order to make more flight matches. When she met with social workers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, they mentioned little Ava, who appeared in a previous CAN website video. They refer many children like Ava to CAN for flights to New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering for specialized neuroblastoma treatment. Cancer patients in less populated areas have also been helped by CAN thanks to donated fractional hours. Social workers at the University of Minnesota’s Amplatz Children’s Hospital were excited to share that a teenage boy they treated is now doing well. He arrived there on a CAN flight with his mother, who had never seen a plane up close, from South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Dedicated hospital professionals cope daily with many individuals fighting cancer. The private aviation community has joined that battle through their participation in CAN and ultimately by expanding the knowledge of cancer treatments for everyone. Words of Inspiration Words cannot express my heartfelt gratitude for the wonderful service that you provided to me as I fought to overcome a rare and serious form of cancer. Two months of extensive chemotherapy and radiation for my stage 3 esophageal cancer left me thirty pounds lighter and extremely fragile and weak. When we realized that I would have to travel from my home in North Carolina to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York for my surgery, I worried about my ability to navigate through busy airports, Michael Nelipovich and the risk to my immune system as well as the his wife Brenda daunting financial burden. It was then that dear friends told us about Corporate Angel Network. Frankly, we were amazed that huge corporations and their busy executives were willing to reach out to ordinary people in their hour of greatest need. We were thrilled that you were able to connect us with flights both pre- and post-surgery. After 27 days in the hospital, four different surgical procedures with the latest techniques and best surgeons in the country, and against all odds, I am totally cancer free. I am convinced that Corporate Angel Network made it possible for me to get a level of care not available near my home that was necessary to save my life. Not only were staff members patient, helpful and dedicated to making the necessary travel connections, the folks associated with both corporate flights treated us with a high degree of respect, compassion and concern for my comfort. They never made us feel as if we were imposing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Corporate Angel Network, for easing the difficulty of a very challenging situation. I cannot imagine all the lives you have touched, but rest assured that your generosity made a huge difference in mine. Michael Nelipovich Corporate Angel Award Since 2001, Corporate Angel Network has recognized participating corporations and their flight departments who donate empty seats on their aircraft to transport cancer patients to specialized treatment by presenting them with the Corporate Angel Award. At BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a recent award recipient, their Aircraft Dispatcher Denise Cardona said, “It’s our honor to participate in Corporate Angel Network and be able to help these very special patients and their families. It’s an extension of BD’s focus on saving and improving people’s lives.” When discussing the commitment of BD’s aviation team to CAN, Denise said, “Everyone, from our VP of Aviation to our pilots to our maintenance technicians, looks forward to helping CAN when we have availability. Personally, the CAN patients I meet truly light up my life.” BD flight department General Mills flight department General Mills was another recent award recipient. Director of Air Transportation Neil Brackin said, “Our employees are always enthusiastic and welcoming of CAN passengers. They get real satisfaction from helping these people.” Each Corporate Angel Award recipient is profiled in a full-page ad in Business & Commercial Aviation magazine. These ads are paid for by corporate cosponsors ConocoPhillips, Safe Flight Instrument Corporation and Business & Commercial Aviation magazine. Proceeds after ad creation expenses are accumulated and then presented to CAN each year during NBAA’s annual convention. Both Denise Cardona and Neil Brackin are eager to spread the word among their aviation colleagues. Neil said, “CAN acts like a seamless extension of our flight department. We encourage any organization to partner with CAN as the experience represents the best of corporate citizenship and business aviation.” Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid White Plains, NY Permit No. 91 Westchester County Airport One Loop Road White Plains, NY 10604 Return Service Requested CAN Now Serving Patients in Hawaii, Alaska and Canada If your aircraft travels to Canada, or stops for fuel in Hawaii or Alaska, please consider offering a lift to cancer patients who must travel for specialized treatment. By extending our range, CAN hopes to increase the number of patients flying to life-prolonging treatment. Hawaii residents typically request flights to cancer treatment facilities on the West Coast. Alaskans often receive their treatment in the Northwest. To help patients travel within Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska and BP are now offering empty seats on their bi-weekly shuttles between Anchorage and Fairbanks. CAN is pleased to answer the increased needs of cancer patients in these areas whose most effective cancer care may be in the 48 contiguous states. Dear Corporate Angels, Thank you so much for arranging our flight from Texas to Wisconsin! We are so blessed that we were able to fly on a private jet, decreasing Caleb’s chance of getting sick. What an awesome organization you have! You really decreased our stress about getting home. We cannot thank you enough. Caleb’s spirits were really lifted as we flew on his “own” plane! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Love, Trisha Teisl, Caleb, and family Franklin, Wisconsin