The flight team consists of more than 100 full and part-time team, under the direction of Dr. Craig Bates as the medical director of MetroHealth's Metro Life Flight in Cleveland. Flight Physicians All of the physicians have Critical Care backgrounds and have been primarily trained in the fields of Emergency Medicine or Surgery. They are certified in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). The physician component brings to the program the advanced knowledge and skill required to effectively treat the critically ill or injured patient. Flight Nurse Specialists The Chief Flight Nurse leads the team of full-time flight nurses, all of whom have a minimum of five years' critical care / emergency department experience. All flight nurses have successfully completed programs in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS), and are certified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) or Paramedics (EMT-Ps). In addition, they partake in ongoing competency training, including Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), along with advanced surgical skills and airways labs. Pilots Metro Life Flight's 25 full-time pilots are all Instrument Flight Rated (IFR) and Global Positioning System (GPS)-trained. Two pilots are on board every Metro Life Flight mission, ensuring the highest level of safety for each air medical transport. In charge of the pilots is Lead Pilot Dave Reese. Communication Specialists The staff would not be complete without its nine flight communication specialists, who coordinate all aspects of Metro Life Flight services and are specially trained to operate the latest, state-of-the-art computer dispatch system. All communication specialists are either EMTs or EMT-Ps, and provide around-the-clock support for patient transport requests. Mechanics Metro Life Flight mechanics average 10 years of experience. They are EC-145 helicopter qualified, FAA certified, airframe and power plant engineers. All aspects of the flight program emphasize quality and safety, and that is why the mechanics support the FAA, part 135, national standards, policies, and procedures relating to air carriers and associated aircraft. To ensure quality and safety, daily duties include inspection and ongoing maintenance of aircraft in accordance with the FAA and other regulatory bodies. Critical Care Paramedics Metro Life Flight's designated Ground Critical Care Transport Team is based at MetroHealth Medical Center.  The ground unit is staffed with highly trained critical care paramedics as well our Life Flight nurses.