I have a hunch that good deeds done behind the scenes have the greatest impact. Maybe it’s because all the energy goes into the cause, with none siphoned off for self-promotion. Ego-free compassion, as someone called it.

Resource specialist Ashley Briggs shares good news with a cancer patient—MMA’s commercial airline program can provide him with a charitable, round trip flight to his treatment in San Antonio.

This kind of behind-the-scenes work goes on day after day and even through the night as part of a little-known Mercy Medical Airlift program begun in 1989 called the National Patient Travel Center. Every month, two resource specialists—one full-time, the other part-time, answer an average of 1,100 calls from within the United States primarily, but also throughout the world.

Eighty percent of the callers are patients. They suffer from cancer, burns, injuries of every sort, physical deformities, and rare diseases. Other callers are parents and grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, friends, veterans, doctors, and case workers. All are desperate to get somewhere—to a hospital or back home or to the bedside of a loved one. Or, they are seeking answers for someone in their care.

When a call comes in, the staff member gathers information and combs through a comprehensive resource book to find the appropriate travel option. It might be Angel Flight or a commercial airline program. It might be Air Compassion America or the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sometimes, a patient needs lodging while undergoing treatment far from home. Joe’s House and the Ronald McDonald Houses are good options.

After business hours, trained staff members rotate pager duty to take urgent calls. This means the helpline—800-296-1217— is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A red light on my phone shows me the line is in use right now. But that’s not unusual. It stays on most of the day, a gateway of hope for the hurting in an office a few doors down from mine.

One Response to “Behind the Scenes, A Gateway of Hope”

  1. Joanie Says:
    April 21st, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    “Behind the scenes” is where much gets accomplished. Our thanks to National Patient Travel Center for their tireless work to help those in need at a desperate time in their lives. Getting to an appointment is one burden lifted by this wonderful organization.