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Peoria Nonprofit Wants People To Know It Flies Patients For Free

Courtesy Lifeline Pilots

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Did you know Peoria is home to a nonprofit that provides medical and humanitarian flights for free? If you didn't, you're not alone. 

Lindsey Kerr is executive director of Lifeline Pilots.

"Only five percent of the need for our service or service like ours in the United States is being met," she said. "So that means that 95 percent of the people who need our support are not getting it, mainly because they don't know about us."

Kerr said about 3.6 million people a year don't get the medical care they need because of transportation barriers. She said LifeLine has the pilots, but needs more passengers. 

She said their service is particularly aimed at low and middle-income people. Private pilots donate their time and fuel costs to fly. Lifeline Pilots serves 10 Midwestern states.

Kerr said a frequent destination is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Lifeline also transports one young boy with an autoimmune disorder from Kentucky to Boston for treatments several times a year.

To learn more, call 800-822-7972 or apply online at lifelinepilots.org.

Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.

Tim Shelley is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.