CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — HALO Flight is breaking ground on a state-of-the-art communications and operations center.
"Air traffic control, and airplanes flying around you. Oh, and by the way you still have a patient to take care of," Randy Endsley, Chief Flight Nurse, said.
Randy Endsley has been a flight nurse with HALO Flight for more than 25 years and says the job is demanding, especially in a tight space, flying high above the ground.
"But the level of care has to be just as top notch," Endsley said.
HALO Flight is the only air ambulance serving South Texas, providing emergency medical transport across the region.
Right now, they operate six helicopters but can only store three at their current facility.
"We have a brand new fleet of aircraft, and right now some of the systems we have, we can't really utilize because our dispatch center is a little out of date," Travis Patterson, CEO, said.
But now — that's going to change. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for this new facility — which will allow dispatchers to monitor aircraft systems in real time and assist pilots if something goes wrong mid-flight.
"So if the pilot has a problem, the dispatch center can help. Right now we can't utilize all of that equipment because we just don't have the technology in the current room they're in," Patterson said.
Emergency calls first come through dispatch where Cara Solis says seconds can make the difference.
"It's an adrenaline drop when that phone rings to be able to get the call in in a timely manner," Cara Solis, Director of Communications, said.
In 2025, more than 1,200 people flew with HALO Flight — nearly three patients every single day.
The new building will also feature classrooms and flight simulators for pilot and medical training.
Travis tells me HALO Flight serves 16 rural and underserved counties where care is not always available.
"A lot of those places don't have access to the emergency medical care that they need, if it were not for HALO Flight," Patterson said.
HALO Flight is still relying on community donations to help finish the new facility, with hopes to open the doors by next year.
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