PALS: Changing Lives, One Flight at a Time

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Mom, Holly Frey Bosse and her daughter Kenzie pose in front of an airplane. (contributed photo)
Mom, Holly Frey Bosse and her daughter Kenzie pose in front of an airplane. (contributed photo)

By Michelle Moskowitz
Sentinel Correspondent

Patient AirLift Services (PALS) is a nonprofit organization providing volunteer medical flights and free air transportation to people in need throughout the Northeast.

These flights are comprised of myriad flight necessities including: medical flights (those suffering from acute or chronic conditions), military flights (for medical purposes as well as its PALS for Patriots programs), hurricane flights, humanitarian flights, and compassion flights, which consist of transporting family members so they can be reunited at critical times of need.

The organization was founded in 2010 and that first year conducted a total of 210 arranged missions to help those in need.

Just six years later, PALS is conducting up to 210 arranged missions per month and has flown over 11,000 necessary missions.

According to Eileen Minogue, executive director for PALS, the reason for such incredible growth in its early stages is a result of PALS’s generous and dedicated executive board members, who have always put the emphasis on achieving the organization’s mission, not the fundraising efforts.

With its headquarters in Farmingdale, N.Y., PALS operates with an efficient eight-person staff, consisting mainly of mission coordinators and outreach facilitators within hospitals and other medical facilities.

Minogue says the outreach facilitators are critical when it comes to raising awareness for patients and families in need who would otherwise not pursue the best medical care available to them because of geographically challenging—not to mention expensive—travel obstacles.

All PALS volunteer pilots not only offer usage of their own private planes as well as their personal flying time, but they also incur all flight expenses including fuel, oil, landing fees and any other expenses that may apply.

Joe Howley, founding chairman and current vice-chairman of PALS, is a long-time Greenwich resident and a volunteer flyer himself who saw the value that PALS delivers. “There is no other volunteer pilot organization that can match our transparency, efficacy, and passion to help those in need,” said Howley.

Many of PALS influential, executive members are from Greenwich as well, including Peter Ryan, Ruthanne Ruzika, Brian Lisoski and Keith Ward.

But more than providing airlift services to its constituents, PALS provides door-to-door transportation for families as well.

They will arrange for pick-up service from one’s home to the private airport, as well as transportation to their medical facility or destination upon landing.  There is no limit to how often one can utilize the service.

Minogue refers to PALS as a “finish-line organization.”

“People are diagnosed every single day and we want to give them access to the very best treatment possible,” says Minogue.

In order to support its program and expand upon its efforts, PALS now conducts fundraising events, raises money through grants to foundations, private donors and corporate sponsors.

Their upcoming Greenwich fundraiser, “Above & Beyond,” is scheduled for Fri., Nov. 4 and will be held at the Tamarack Country Club from 7 to 11 p.m.

This marks the first year that PALS is incorporating its “Richard M. Ruzika Flight of Hope Award,” in honor of Ruzika, a highly respected leader at Goldman Sachs who was instrumental in the early development and success of PALS.

Ruzika passed away in 2012.

Recipients of the award are Jennifer Padovani and Bill McNahon, dear friends of Ruzika whose benevolence and dedication have made a great impact on the organization.

Perhaps the impact that PALS offers its constituents can be conveyed by the following poem, written by Holly Frey Bosse, a mother who has used PALS services for her daughter Kenzie’s cancer treatments:

“This morning, everything below me felt so small—the houses, the trees, the problems and the worries. As a parent of a child battling cancer rarely does, I can actually breathe deeply and with more awareness of my own need to relax.

Up here, miracles seem more possible, more tangible. There is a magical light coating the sky that I’m sure exists when my feet touch the ground, but it is more difficult to notice with the distraction of life.

Right now, this is life and I want to experience every second. The sea and sky melt together into a breathtaking swirl of blue and golden glow.

The meandering rivers know where they are going and it inspires me to live life with the same direction and purpose.

Thank you for this break from heavy traffic, an empty gas tank, early morning and after bedtime homecomings. Thank you for inspiration to build up our positive energy and the opportunity to relax and experience beauty and tranquility. This part of our journey we will always look back and smile.”

PALS also supports the military with its PALS For Patriots program, which includes taking war veterans to Major League Baseball games, including full-service transportation and hotel accommodations for the evening.

A big part of their programs also encompasses transportation service to cancer camps within the region in order give kids a much welcome respite from their health struggles such as at Camp Sunshine, Hole in The Wall Gang, and Kids NEED MoRE Camp Adventure.

Please visit palservices.org for more information on PALS services or to make a donation.

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