UNC Carolina Air Care

09/11/2026

Yesterday in Chatham County, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol demonstrated incredible skill and teamwork during a hoist operation using a Stokes basket. Their team also safely hoisted the paramedic who continued providing care during transport, reflecting the coordination and professionalism that make complex responses possible.

It is not every day that we get a visit from the State Highway Patrol at UNC, and we were grateful for the opportunity to see this excellent interagency collaboration up close. The crew of Air Life 2 met them on arrival and assisted with getting the patient safely to their destination.

A sincere thank you to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Chatham County EMS, and the Air Life 2 crew for the professionalism, communication, and teamwork shown throughout this response. We are proud to work alongside partners who share the same commitment to safe, coordinated patient care.

09/10/2026

Employee Spotlight: Regina Becraft

Some people have a way of making everyone around them feel a little more cared for, and Regina Becraft is one of those people.

As a Critical Care Paramedic, Regina brings skill and dedication to every mission. But what really stands out is the kindness she brings with her every day. She has a genuine passion for caring for others, a love for animals, and boating in the ocean.

Last year, Regina was honored with the Carolina Care Award by UNC. And honestly, no one on our team was surprised. Regina doesn't just demonstrate Carolina Care when someone is watching or when an award is on the line. She lives it each shift in the way she treats her patients, supports her teammates, and shows up for the people around her.

We're grateful to have Regina on our team and even more grateful for the heart she brings to the work.

Thank you, Regina, for reminding us that excellent critical care isn't just about what you do, it's also about how you make people feel along the way.

📸 Andy Mills

09/09/2026

We make a great team!

Duke Blue on Carolina ground.



UNC Carolina Air Care

09/08/2026

There’s something special about ending a shift with a view like this.

After the calls, the miles, the planning, and the long hours, sometimes you get a quiet reminder of just how incredible this job can be.

Another shift complete. Another day of caring for our communities. And one beautiful sunrise to send the crew home.

09/05/2026

Sometimes the safest answer is “not today.”

When a patient needs critical care transport, the goal is to get them where they need to go safely. That means sometimes the safest way to complete the mission is by air, and sometimes it’s by ground.

Carolina Air Care operates under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), which means weather conditions can place limitations on when and where our aircraft can safely operate. Our aviation teams continuously evaluate conditions such as:

• Visibility and cloud ceilings
• Wind speed and direction
• Thunderstorms and lightning
• Heavy rain
• Turbulence and changing weather conditions

And during hurricane season in North Carolina, those considerations become even more important. Tropical weather can change rapidly, creating conditions that may make a flight unsafe even when conditions at the sending or receiving hospital appear manageable. We never take unnecessary risks to complete a flight.

Carolina Air Care has operated safely for 40 years and protecting that safety record means making the right decision every time.

Thankfully, a weather-related flight limitation doesn't mean the mission stops. We plan for the unexpected. When our aircraft can't safely reach a patient, our ground critical care transport fleet provides another way to get the patient where they need to be.

At the end of the day, it's not about whether we fly, it's about getting the patient there safely. And we intend to keep doing that for the next 40 years and beyond.

What aviation topic should we break down next?

📸 Andy Mills

09/03/2026

Employee Spotlight: Lead Pilot Eric Williams

Today, on World Beard Day, we're highlighting Lead Pilot Eric Williams.

Behind every Carolina Air Care mission is a pilot who is responsible for more than simply getting the aircraft from point A to point B. Our pilots bring years of aviation experience, knowledge of the aircraft, weather, terrain, airspace, and countless other factors that go into making each flight as safe and efficient as possible.

Eric has spent 23 years as a pilot, including 18 years flying in EMS. Over the course of his career, he has flown EMS missions in Arizona, North Carolina, and California, bringing a wealth of experience to the Carolina Air Care team.

For our clinical crews, having an experienced pilot in the front of the aircraft means having someone we can trust to make sound decisions throughout the mission. From evaluating weather and flight conditions to navigating changing circumstances in the air, our pilots are an essential part of the team long before we ever reach the patient.

And while Eric's aviation experience is what we're really here to recognize, we can't completely ignore the other thing he brings to the cockpit: that beard. On World Beard Day, it seemed only right to give it the recognition it deserves.

We're fortunate to have experienced pilots like Eric on our team, helping us safely bring critical care to patients across North Carolina and beyond.

Thanks for all you do, Eric!

09/01/2026

What makes critical care transport different?

When a critically ill patient needs to move, the care becomes more complex. Before our team ever sees the patient, a much larger team is already working behind the scenes. This often includes the bedside clinicians stabilizing the patient, physicians determining the safest plan, respiratory therapists managing the airway and ventilator, nurses preparing medications and equipment, communicators coordinating the mission, and the receiving team preparing for the patient’s arrival.

Then we arrive.

You may see two clinicians walk through the door. What you don’t see is the planning, communication, equipment checks, clinical decision-making and contingency planning that happened before we ever touch the patient.

Critical care transport is about taking a patient who may be dependent on an ICU-level of care and safely moving that care outside the walls of the hospital. That means bringing the monitoring, medications, ventilatory support, airway equipment and clinical expertise needed to continue managing the patient throughout the transport.

And we do it in a remarkably small space.

Whether it’s a helicopter or an ambulance, the transport vehicle becomes a mobile critical care environment that is designed around the needs of the patient. The goal isn’t simply to get the patient from Point A to Point B, it’s to make sure critical care continues the entire way. The ICU isn’t a room; it’s a level of care.

What critical care capability surprises you most about medical transport?

📸 Andy Mills

08/29/2026

Did you figure it out?

If you recognized the truck characters from our last stories, you probably know we’re talking about Aberdeen Fire Department!

Aberdeen Fire Department has been a close partner of Carolina Air Care since we moved into their station 42 in October 2017. Since then, our teams have spent plenty of time working side-by-side and building the relationships and trust that make a difference when emergencies happen.

The Town of Aberdeen has been providing fire service to the community since 1921. Today, the department operates from two stations and focuses on much more than emergency response, including fire prevention, public education and preparedness. In 2024, Aberdeen Fire Department also earned an improved Class 2 ISO rating, recognizing the department’s continued investment in training, equipment and fire protection. Way to go!!!

Our crews know the firefighters at Aberdeen, and they know us. We work together, learn from each other so we can all provide the best possible care to patients when they need it most.

We’re grateful to the men and women of Aberdeen Fire Department for being such a great partner to Carolina Air Care and for welcoming our team into their station and their community for nearly a decade.

📸 Andy Mills

08/27/2026

Employee Spotlight!

Kat Abshier has been part of Carolina Air Care since 2016. She began with the program as a critical care ground nurse before transitioning to flight nursing soon after.

Over the past decade, Kat has cared for critically ill and injured patients throughout North Carolina and has become an experienced and valued member of the Air Care team. When asked about her favorite part of the job, Kat says it’s the scene calls. They give her the opportunity to bring critical care directly to patients when and where they need it.

Kat’s other favorite part of working for Air Care? The ability to have visitors like Jenny!

Jenny joined Air Care in 2017 and has been making appearances with the team ever since. While Kat handles the clinical side of things, Jenny has found a passion for head scratches from the crew.

We’re grateful to have Kat as part of Carolina Air Care and appreciate the experience, dedication, and personality she brings to the team.

Thanks for all you do, Kat. And Jenny, we’re always happy to see you, too.

📸 Andy Mills

08/24/2026

What actually happens between the call and skids up?

It starts with a call to Flightwatch.

When a request for Carolina Air Care comes in, our communicators are the first people to answer the call. They quickly identify where the patient is, gather the details of the mission, and begin coordinating the transport while managing multiple pieces of information at once.

Behind them is our Shift Operations Coordinator, a clinically trained member of the team. They work alongside the communicator to help determine the most appropriate resource for the patient and the closest available asset.

Together, they are constantly balancing location, patient needs, aircraft availability, crew resources, and operational considerations to get the right team moving.

Our communicators are expert multitaskers. They work calmly under pressure, communicate with precision, and keep the details moving when every minute matters. Before an aircraft ever lifts off, there is a team working behind the scenes to make sure it goes to the right place, for the right patient, at the right time.

What would you like to know about our communicators or dispatch center?

📸 Mills