Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauaʻi’s west side helps save lives by saving time

Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kekaha again played a clutch role April 10 in save time with the urgent medical transportation of a Kauaʻi patient, who was able to be airlifted from the U.S. Navy facility outside Barking Sands on the west side of Kauaʻi instead of having to be taken to the other side of the island.

Emergency medical technician Juvann Bautista with American Medical Response, or AMR, arrived in an ambulance just before 10:30 a.m. at the U.S. Navy facility outside Barking Sands on the west side of Kauaʻi.

His destination was the airfield to rendezvous with a plane waiting to take a patient for a Hawaiʻi Life Flight air medical transport.

“When a patient needs air medical transfer on the west side, we are able to reduce transport time by an hour or more when going to [Pacific Missile Range Facility] instead of driving all the way to the other side of the island,” Bautista said.

Pacific Missile Range Facility is one of only 2 commonly used patient transport zones on the island. The other is Līhuʻe Airport, about 32 miles — and almost an hour — away on the east side of the island.

Barking Sands Fire and Emergency Services Department members Chris Gutierrez and Michelle Hickerson escorted Bautista and his patient in the AMR ambulance onto the tarmac as well as assisted with the patient’s transfer to the awaiting plane, which was in the air within 30 minutes of the patient being securely boarded.

“An hour can make a serious difference in any situation, but it’s huge when you’re talking about life-saving care,” Bautista said. “The team at [Pacific Missile Range Facility] is always super professional and they help me with whatever I need when I get there.”

Patients requiring emergency specialty care often require air medical transport to Oʻahu because there are only 3 hospitals on Kauaʻi which don’t always offer many of those services.

“AMR and Hawaiʻi Life Flight are the real heroes when it comes to these flights,” said Michelle Hickerson with Barking Sands Fire and Emergency Services. “They’re the ones transporting the patients. We’re just happy to help them however we can to ensure that process goes smoothly.”