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SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Monkeys will be joining the Geisinger Life Flight team to help make a trip in a medical helicopter or ambulance a little easier for young patients. Thanks to Aly’s Monkey Movement, pediatric patients needing transport by the Life Flight team will get a stuffed monkey as a companion. 

Aly Creasy, of Hughesville, donated two boxes of stuffed monkeys to the Life Flight 1 team at the Selinsgrove base on Feb. 28. The monkeys will be distributed across Geisinger’s six air ambulance bases and two critical care ground transport unit bases for crew members to take along during the pediatric transport.

Aly approached the Life Flight about donating monkeys to the program. Aly’s Monkey Movement got its start after she experienced her own scary situation. Following a trip to the emergency room a couple years ago, her grandparents gave her Jack, her first stuffed monkey. She said although she was scared, having Jack by her side helped.

“He brought me so much comfort and joy, and that is what started my love for monkeys,” Aly said. “Now I want to help other kids going through scary situations. I hope having a monkey by their side can help them, just like it helped me.”

Aly is accepting stuffed monkey donations. To learn more about Aly’s Monkey Movement, click here

“Geisinger Life Flight transports thousands of patients every year, with many of those being seriously ill or injured kids,” said Jerry Splitt, Life Flight program director. “Having these donated stuffed animals from Aly’s Monkey Movement will hopefully help to make a child’s transport a little less frightening.”

In addition to Selinsgrove, Geisinger Life Flight has bases in Avoca, Leighton, Minersville, Montoursville and State College, with the critical care ground transport units based in Danville and Avoca. Geisinger Life Flight averages more than 3,200 transports a year and transported more than 69,000 patients since beginning operation in 1981. The program operates with approximately 150 staff members, including pilots, flight nurses, flight medics, communications specialists, emergency vehicle operators, maintenance and administrative staff. Life Flight is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport System (CAMTS) and holds its own Air Carrier certificate through the FAA.

About Geisinger
Geisinger is committed to making better health easier for the more than 1 million people it serves. Founded more than 100 years ago by Abigail Geisinger, the system now includes 10 hospital campuses, a health plan with more than half a million members, a research institute and the Geisinger College of Health Sciences, which includes schools of medicine, nursing and graduate education. With more than 25,000 employees and 1,700+ employed physicians, Geisinger boosts its hometown economies in Pennsylvania by billions of dollars annually. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

 
Kristy Creasy, Tyler Creasy, Aly Creasy and Scott Lynn sitting on the leg of a helicopter.
Aly's Monkey Movement donated stuff monkeys to Geisinger's Life Flight program to provide comfort to children during Life Flight transports. Seated left to right are Kristy Creasy, Tyler Creasy, Aly Creasy and Life Flight Paramedic Scott Lynn.
Stuffed monkeys sit inside a Life Flight helicopter.
Some of the donated stuffed monkeys sitting inside one of Geisinger's Life Flight helicopters at the Selinsgrove base.

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