Initially, Moorhouse had wanted to join the Air Force.
by Carol Leish
Jeff Moorhouse said that he learned how to fly since he had a lot of business across the western states that he needed to get to, along with many different conferences in various areas to go to. And, at first, he had to drive long distances to get to various places. Then, according to him, “I started flying for Angel Flight West, which I’ve been doing for over five years now, because I wanted more of a purpose of flying besides just flying to my own meetings and conferences.”
Initially, Moorhouse had wanted to join the Air Force. As his current career as a certified financial planner progressed over time, he began to take flying lessons on his own. After having flown as a student pilot, he became a private pilot. Now, he’s an instrument rated pilot with over 1,000 miles of flying.
“Everyday Angel Flight West is flying about 20 missions,” according to Moorhouse. “These missions deal with a variety of medical needs, which are mainly dealing with flying patients to their appointments dealing with cancer treatments. This includes flying women to get treatment for breast cancer treatments.” October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “We had just recently (mid-September), gotten back to flying patients to their medical appointments, because of restrictions due to COVID-19. In April, it had stopped since it was viewed as unsafe for the pilot and the patient to be in an enclosed area.”
“Angel Flight West, has been flying, almost on a daily basis, since March, PPE (personal protective equipment), to rural destinations and to underserved areas,” according to Moorhouse. “Also, we pick up blood, which is important for blood banks. This includes flying it to a processing center in San Bernardino. Processing and delivering blood are important for blood banks and rural communities since it takes time to process the blood. In fact, after the mudslides in Montecito, I flew blood from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo.”
“We love to fly, and we want to help,’ is one of the mottos of Angel Flight West. Their mission is: ‘Sometimes the road to health is a runway. If the care you need is far from home, Angel Flight West can help.” For further information, call (310) 390-2958; email: [email protected]; or, go to www.angelflightwest.org.
