Police Aviation News November 2010

Police Aviation News November 2010 21
MICHIGAN: On October 1 the Henry Ford
Hospital in Detroit introduced Air Med 1 an
aeromedical helicopter as a new service for
transporting critically ill and trauma patients to
its facility from within a 150-mile radius in
Michigan and Ontario.
With demand growing for caring for critically ill
patients, the air ambulance service positions
Henry Ford to provide fast, emergency oneway
transport to its medical complex, which
boasts the largest intensive care capacity in
Michigan and a Level 1 trauma center for treating
the most critically injured patients.
The Eurocopter EC135 helicopter is a new addition to a fleet of ground ambulances that
transport patients to the hospital and other Henry Ford facilities under an existing partnership
with Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Michigan that began in 2005. Henry
Ford is the only hospital in the tri-county area equipped to provide air ambulance transport
service.
To ensure a seamless patient transport, each flight is coordinated by a Henry Ford transfer
nurse and staff physician, the patient’s referring physician and a Superior Ambulance coordinator.
Superior provides the Air Med 1 flight crew including a critical care RN, critical care
paramedic and pilot. No Henry Ford medical personnel are involved in in-flight transports.
Mary Franco, vice president of Business Development at Superior, says its pilots have vast
experience flying in Michigan, Ohio and Windsor. Its pilots, not Superior ground personnel,
make all flight decisions, she says. In this vein the company prides itself in providing their
aircraft with the latest available safety equipment.
The EC135 boasts numerous safety features including auto pilot, weather radar, TCAS,
TAWS, NVG’s and WSP. It also has satellite and weather radar and a satellite phone. The
helicopter will be housed at the Oakland International Airport in Pontiac.
Flight crews are certified in critical care emergency medical transport and emergency vehicle
operations, and undergo mandatory training in pharmacology, and managing intravenous
medication delivery.
MISSISSIPI: The University of Mississippi Medical Center has purchased an EC145 for
its Department of Helicopter Transport – the AirCare program. The helicopter is replacing
one of their current aircraft and will be based in Jackson, MS. It will be operated by PHI
Helicopters, Inc.
AirCare was established in 1996 with a single helicopter based in Jackson. The program
has grown and it currently has a fleet of two helicopters that serve the Jackson and Meridian
areas.
NEW YORK: Mercy Flight of Western New York has signed an agreement to purchase
the first of a potential three Bell 429s to replace its existing fleet of Eurocopter helicopters.
Mercy Flight of Western New York began their business flying the Bell 206B – it is only fitting
thy have returned to upgrade their fleet using the 429.
Headquartered in Buffalo, New York, Mercy Flight of Western New York is an independent,
not-for-profit provider of emergency air medical transport and supporting services, ensuring
rapid, safe and cost effective delivery of expert emergency response teams. Established in
1981, Mercy Flight has flown more than 19,000 patient missions over the last 29+ years.
They currently operate five helicopters and have crews ready to respond 24 hours a day, 7
days a week out of bases in Buffalo, Batavia and Olean. The first of the three twin-engine
helicopters is expected to be in service in second quarter of 2011.