The bright red REACH Air Medical Services helicopter served as a backdrop for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley.
St. Mary Chief Executive Randy Castillo welcomed medical staff, dignitaries and community leaders to Thursday’s event near the medical center staff parking lot on Kasota Road near Highway 18.
The ceremony celebrated St. Mary’s partnership with REACH, a new sexual assault response team , and the medical center’s Level 4 Trauma program.
The continuing transformation of St. Mary is evident by the words, “Trauma, SART and REACH,” said Castillo, who welcomed the REACH crew as “part of our family now.”
REACH, Trauma Center progress
Castillo said 2025 is the year that St. Mary hopes to transform from a Level 4 Trauma Center up to Level 3, and at some point, to serve the High Desert of San Bernardino County all the way to the Nevada state line.
St. Mary was designated as a Level 4 Trauma Center in July 2024, with its recent partnership with REACH part of that process.
Castillo praised Reach, its “highly skilled” aviation crew, and the technology of the company’s helicopter, which is based at St. Mary.
Trauma Medical Director Doctor Paul Wisniewski said the expanding population of the High Desert has needed a Level 4 Trauma Center.
“Before we opened up in July, if you got in an accident, you had to either take an ambulance ride all the way to Arrowhead or Loma Linda or take a helicopter ride all the way down there,” he said.
Before July, medical staff projected about 50 trauma incidents a month, according to Wisniewski, who shocked the crowd by saying “We opened the door and went straight to 200 traumas a month.”
Over the last six months, St. Mary has treated 1,387 trauma patients, with 17 lives saved at the trauma facility that’s manned with a medical staff 24/7, Wisniewski stated.
“We prevented 1,123 people from having to travel down the hill to get care,” the doctor added.
Wisniewski also said the average survival rate of trauma patients at Level 3 centers is 85 to 90%, at St.Mary’s Level 4, “You have a 98.7% chance of surviving and walking out.”
Mercy Air helicopters will continue to transport patients to and from St. Mary, medical officials told the Daily Press.
Sexual assault response team
Castillo explained that it was a travesty that a High Desert community of nearly 600,000 people couldn’t be served locally after suffering domestic or sexual abuse.
St. Mary Chief Philanthropy Officer Nicole Orr told the audience the Sexual Assault Response Team is comprised of a group of dedicated and highly-trained caregivers.
The program, which is expected to launch in April, is fully supported by donors and the St. Mary Foundation.
Until recently, the closest location for this specialized care was a 50-mile drive down the Cajon Pass, medical officials stated.
Through the specialized team, St. Mary will work alongside law enforcement, community-based victim advocates, prosecutors, mental health services and others to improve the coordination of services needed for those who need care.
By bringing together experts, the sexual assault response team will provide a supportive progression through medical, legal, mental health and other essential touchpoints, St. Mary officials stated.
Apple Valley Sheriff’s Capt. Jason Cunningham in a written statement said, “SART stands as a testament to our dedication to justice, healing and the protection of every citizen in the High Desert.”
REACH
Headquartered in Sacramento, REACH provides critical care air- and ground-transport service to communities throughout California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado and Wyoming, the company said
REACH employs hundreds of highly trained nurses, paramedics, pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians to provide service to patients using their fleet of medically equipped helicopters, airplanes and ground ambulances.