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SPRINGFIELD — Tucked away beside the Effingham Health System complex is a small but vital piece of Effingham County’s first responder network — Lifestar.

Besides being able to get to an accident scene and then to a hospital quickly, Lifestar provide what amounts to an emergency room in a helicopter. Flight Paramedic Jeff Kuehn said it’s like bringing the emergency room to the patients.

When a call comes in through Lifestar dispatch, a team of three — a pilot, flight nurse and a flight paramedic — boards a helicopter and flies to the emergency site. Once there, they work alongside other first responders, whether law enforcement, firefighters or EMS…