Announcement

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 30th January 2014, 17:44

State Could Soon Fly Air Ambulances In SW Georgia

ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2015 contains a surprising health care item: $13 million to fund air ambulance service in 14 southwest Georgia counties.

If the funding is approved by the General Assembly, it will be the first time the state has ever operated an ambulance service — either by air or by ground. In Georgia, trauma transport typically is handled by counties, hospitals or private emergency medical services (EMS) companies. Currently, all air ambulance service in the state is provided by private carriers.

Col. Mark McDonough, Department of Public Safety commissioner, told GHN there are no private air ambulance services based within the 14 counties that make up the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission (SWGRC).

That void, he explained, is why the state has proposed enlisting the Georgia State Patrol to operate two helicopters in the region, providing both ambulance and law enforcement services. The aircraft would be based in Camilla.

http://www.gpb.org/news/2014/01/30/s...-in-sw-georgia

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 1st February 2014, 10:36

STARS shows off life-saving, state of the art helicopter

CALGARY- Some Alberta pilots got to show off their new toy on Friday: a state of the art helicopter that just so happens to also save lives.

STARS newest air ambulance is bigger and faster than the others in its fleet. But more importantly, the AW139 is able to fly in bad weather.

“It’s difficult. We know that there’s someone who needs us, but it’s safety first,” says founder Gregory Powell, of the limitations they have faced in the past.

The new chopper automatically senses ice buildup, and cues the pilot to turn on a deicing system.

“We’ve been doing some training and flown it into the mountainous regions in the last couple weeks under some pretty high winds, and you can feel that it’s quite stable,” pilot Greg Curtis explains. “On a lot of these wintry days where we have ice in the forecast and it’s moderate or light icing, we’ll be able to accomplish a lot of missions. So that’s going to be a big plus to us.”

The helicopters can fly up to 300 km/h, and also offer more room to maneuver than the BK117s they have been using.

“In our current set up, we can’t move our seats at all,” says flight paramedic Greg Barton. “So here, you can move your seat and have great access to the patient.”

The AW139s cost $16 million—a solid investment for the peace of mind knowing an experienced medical team is only a short flight away.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1122125/st...rt-helicopter/

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 4th February 2014, 17:22

Helicopter: The Life Saver

Patients transported to hospital by helicopter have a better chance of surviving traumatic injuries than those transported by ground ambulance despite having more severe injuries and needing more surgical interventions, states a study published in theCanadian Journal of Surgery.

Researchers from the Departments of Surgery at the Columbus Regional hospital, Atlanta Medical Center and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and at the University of Calgary conducted a 10-year study comparing the injuries, surgical interventions and outcomes of patients transported to hospital by air or ground ambulance. The types of injuries investigated ranged from motor vehicle crashes to falls to all-terrain vehicle accidents.

The researchers found that patients brought to hospital by ground ambulance more often died in the emergency room than patients brought by air: 585 versus 43 deaths, respectively. The authors state that this improved survival may be explained by the availability of more advanced monitoring and equipment and more medications as well as the presence of a flight nurse and paramedic in the air ambulance.

"This American-based study has considerable applicability to Canadian patients," says Chad Ball, the study author from the University of Calgary. "Given that so many of our patients are located in geographically remote locations, timely transport to trauma centres is a persisting concern. We also know that patients who live in rural areas carry a higher risk of death after injury than their urban-based counterparts. Appropriate air ambulance transport is one potential method to shorten transfer times to definitive care and therefore decrease this risk."

The debate over outcome differences between patients transported to hospital by air and those transported by ground ambulance has continued for more than two decades, but there is general consensus that severely injured patients transported by air have a better chance of survival. The controversy is whether helicopter transport is necessary for particular cohorts of patients.
"The improved outcomes in our study indicate that appropriate helicopter transport, even with the associated cost and safety risk, is beneficial to severely injured patients," the authors state.

The authors note that the cost of air ambulance services, at least in the United States, has been concerning to third-party payers as well as patients. They state the dramatic difference between charge and reimbursement is often borne by the patients and their families.

Although cost–benefit analyses are warranted, the authors indicate that "air ambulance transport for injured patients is vitally important given increasing patient volumes, the limited number of trauma centres and inadequate subspecialty coverage in nontrauma hospitals."

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-02-helicopters.html

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 10th February 2014, 18:53

LifeFlight Uppgrades to Bell 407GX

LifeFlight Eagle has placed into service two new state-of-the-art Bell 407GX helicopters at its Harrisonville and Trenton bases.

The new aircraft were purchased as part of the non-profit organization’s fleet replacement program, and reflect LifeFlight Eagle’s ongoing commitment to the community to provide life-saving transport to critically ill and injured patients in Missouri and Kansas.

407GX helicopters sits on a dolly at the downtown airport in Kansas City during training. LifeFlight Eagle has replaced its helicopters based in Harrisonville and Trenton with two new state-of-the-art Bell 407GX helicopters. While they look similar on the outside to the helicopters they replace, the new aircraft feature technology and safety upgrades, including a glass-cockpit and two-axis autopilot, among others

From the outside, the aircraft look very similar to the 10-year-old Bell 407 helicopters they replace, but inside the changes are remarkable. The most dramatic difference is in the pilot’s cockpit. Gone are the array of analog dials, now replaced by two large, glass flat-panel displays and electronic controls for the aircrafts’ systems.

The pilot has a primary flight display in front of him, with a secondary display that can hold information like a moving map, airport information and engine monitoring instruments.

Garmin G1000H avionics suite is a very dynamic tool,” said Stu Buckingham, a pilot and business operations manager for LifeFlight Eagle’s air operator, PHI Air Medical.

“It enhances safety in a number of ways — most importantly, it assists the pilot in maintaining situational awareness through the twin screens. It displays things like converging air traffic, obstacles and terrain, and it has a terrain avoidance warning system to alert the pilot if the aircraft is approaching the ground unknowingly.”

“It also reduces pilot workload by presenting visual navigation and color-coded graphs of engine monitoring and aircraft performance. The pilot can take this information in at a glance — more quickly than with traditional gauges.”

One of the new aircraft’s most important safety upgrades is not very visible until it’s needed. The helicopters feature a two-axis autopilot system, which allows the pilot to set the aircraft to automatically control altitude and heading. In addition to reducing pilot fatigue on long flights, the autopilot provides important aircraft capabilities if the pilot encounters unforecasted weather conditions. The helicopters have the ability to automatically level themselves with the autopilot system and climb to a safe altitude should the pilot lose visual reference to the ground.

Joe Coons, LifeFlight Eagle’s Director of Safety, said it was important to note that the new aircraft’s capabilities didn’t mean LifeFlight Eagle would now fly in questionable weather or low visibility, but that they provide an additional margin of safety should the pilot inadvertently fly into those conditions.

“Safety for our patients and our crews is at the core of everything we do,” Coons said. “We’re not going to accept a patient flight unless we have 100 percent certainty that we can safely deliver that patient to the hospital and the care they need.”
LifeFlight Eagle CEO Roxanne Shanks said the investment in new technology and safety enhancements was a reflection of the organization’s commitment to the communities it serves.

“Going all the way back to LifeFlight Eagle’s roots in 1978, we’ve had a close relationship with the community, and a great sense of responsibility to the community,” Shanks said. “As a non-profit organization, it’s more than patient flights for us. It’s about enhancing the communities we serve through partnership with EMS agencies, fire departments and hospitals, through education and by enhancing the quality and availability of emergency medical services for the people in these communities.”

“These new aircraft are simply an extension of these core values. They will help ensure that we are able to continue to provide safe, rapid transport and exceptional clinical care to critically ill and injured patients in these communities for years to come.”
“We couldn’t provide this service without the support of the community, though, and for that we are very grateful,” Shanks said. “The donations we receive and the support provided through our membership program are invaluable.”

http://republican-times.com/2014/02/.../#.UvkRX2KSwnl

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 12th February 2014, 08:09

Broken elevator leaves heliport atop HGH inoperable

A broken elevator has halted the use of the state-of-the-art, $3.5-million heliport on the roof of Hamilton General Hospital.

The elevator has been down for the past month at the Barton Street East hospital, meaning helicopters cannot land on the heliport with trauma patients from accident scenes or other medical emergencies.

An ORNGE helicopter takes off from the roof of Hamilton General

Hamilton Health Sciences, which operates the hospital, has had to come up with a contingency plan for patients requiring helicopter service. They are flown to a helipad (a landing pad on the ground) set up in a baseball diamond behind McMaster Children's Hospital on Main Street West, then transported by ambulance to the General or other facility.

Some patients have been transported by helicopter to Toronto hospitals.

"It's unfortunate," HHS spokesperson Carly Griffin said Monday afternoon.

She said there has been no deaths or serious problems caused by the situation.

"The contingency plan is working," Griffin added.

Ornge, which provides air transport for ill and critically ill patients, transports about 90 patients a year to the General's heliport.

Griffin said Otis Elevator estimated initially that repairs would take about 10 weeks, but then indicated they hope to have it done sooner and are "just waiting on some parts."

She said the elevator had a mechanical failure and it was not deemed appropriate to bring patients down the stairs.

The $3.5-million heliport, which opened on the roof of Hamilton General in August 2007, was designed to shave anywhere from five to 20 minutes off the time it takes to get a patient into the ER.

For two decades prior to that, a helipad was in use behind the hospital. Patients were placed in an ambulance, driven around to Barton Street and delivered to the ER. This required cars to halt on Victoria Avenue North and trains to stop on the nearby CN Rail line with every helicopter landing.

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/43...gh-inoperable/

**HeliHub News** · 28th February 2014, 10:05

Summit Air Ambulance signs for two AW119Kx

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that Summit Air Ambulance of Idaho has signed a contract for two AW119Kx helicopters to support EMS operations in the Northwest United States. The two AW119Kx will join an AW109 Power already in service, in addition to a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft.

Summit's existing 109E aircraft

“Summit Air Ambulance has proven time and again to be a reliable and efficient provider of critical care transport, and it is with great pride we announce they are continuing their relationship with AgustaWestland by adding two AW119Kx helicopters to their fleet,” said Robert Brant, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, North America. “The technological upgrades introduced in the AW119Kx will allow Summit Air Ambulance to safely conduct lifesaving EMS missions in the communities they operate.”

Unveiled in October 2012, the AW119Kx is the latest evolution of the proven AW119 single engine helicopter which features the Garmin G1000HTM integrated flight deck system while keeping the AW119’s outstanding performance, cabin space and payload. The new avionics system includes a synthetic vision system, moving map, highway in the sky and obstacle/terrain avoidance systems for enhanced pilot situational awareness and safety.

Nearly 240 AW119 helicopters have been ordered to date in more than 30 countries by over 100 customers. The new AW119Kx, like the AW119Ke, is perfectly suited to perform many roles including EMS, VIP/corporate transport, utility, fire-fighting, law enforcement and government duties.

The aircraft will be assembled and completed with aeromedical interiors at AgustaWestland’s Philadelphia facility with deliveries set to begin in late 2014.

Summit Air Ambulance is a proven regional leader in working with government agencies, hospitals and healthcare systems to develop solutions specific to local needs. The company is firmly committed to helping from a network of coordinated teams linking a region’s tertiary care centers, community hospitals, critical access hospitals and first responders. Summit’s home office, communications center, and maintenance facility are located in Caldwell, Idaho. The company currently operates fixed-wing and/or helicopter bases in Bozeman, Montana; Elko, Nevada; and Reno, Nevada.

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 1st March 2014, 07:46

New medical helicopter service lands in Steamboat Springs

Classic Lifeguard helicopter service will operate out of Steamboat Springs Airport

Ryan Cutter pilots a new medical helicopter over Steamboat Springs during a test flight on Friday afternoon

The new air ambulance service from Classic Lifeguard will begin operating out of the Steamboat Springs Airport on Saturday.

Pilot Barry Worstell does a pre-flight check on the new air ambulance Friday at Bob Adams Field

http://www.steamboattoday.com/news/2...g-steamboat-s/

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 1st March 2014, 08:00

Former Medstar pilot files whistleblower grievance

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Tonight an update on the helicopter ambulance called Medstar. It was grounded about year and a half ago amid controversy. Now, one of it's former pilots and EMT's has filed a grievance as a "whistleblower."

Medstar was a helicopter ambulance, where the pilots were also EMT's- Emergency Medical Technicians. It flew critically injured or critically ill patients to Lee Memorial Hospital for treatment and sometimes even took patients to Tampa for treatment.

After it was grounded in August of 2012, Medstar's employees were interviewed by auditors. Essentially they found the entire EMS program needed to be over hauled because it didn't have the required FAA certification. The audit also found patients were over billed by nearly a half a million dollars.

When it was grounded, three of it's pilots/EMT's lost their jobs. One of those is Arnold MacAllister who has now filed a grievance with the federal government.

"I filed a complaint under the Whistleblower Protection Act whereby if pilots or other people in safety sensitive jobs report violations and then are later retaliated against by their employer, fired, terminated, put on administrative leave, I mean there's lots of different forms of violations," MacAllister said. "Now it's at the Administrative Review Board in Washington, DC."

MacAllister said he doesn't not know when the appeal will actually be heard. He is currently flying and working in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the world.

http://www.jrn.com/fox4now/news/247891741.html

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 6th March 2014, 08:30

Teen hit by train dies; CareFlite had to make emergency landing at Meacham

FORT WORTH — A teenage girl who was hit by a train in semi-rural area of southwest Fort Worth died late Wednesday after police, firefighters and crews of both ground and helicopter ambulances labored to get her to a hospital.

The CareFlite helicopter ambulance that picked up the girl after landing on a bridge in the Chisholm Trail Parkway construction zone then had to make an emergency landing at Meacham Airport, officials said.

A MedStar ground ambulance took the girl from there to John Peter Smith Hospital, said Brett Lyle, a MedStar spokeswoman.

She was pronounced dead later at JPS, Fort Worth police Capt. Scott Conn reported in an email at 11:42 p.m.

MedStar dispatchers had been alerted shortly after 9 p.m. that someone had been hit by a train near the intersection of Old Granbury Road and Columbus Trail, Lyle said.

Conn said the train, operated by the Fort Worth & Western Railroad, struck a 15-year-old girl sitting on the tracks.

“Evidence indicates that [she] was attempting suicide,” Conn said.

Emergency responders described the patient as about 150 pounds with a head injury and trauma to her torso, according to fire department radio communications.

Two ambulances arrived, but their crews had difficulty finding the patient in the dark, Lyle said. The area, east of Benbrook Lake, is semi-rural and very dark at night.

Once the ambulance crews found the patient, they determined she was in critical condition and requested an air ambulance, Lyle said.

Firefighters and police also arrived and created a landing zone on a bridge that is part of construction for the new Chisholm Trail Parkway. They lighted the zone with flares.

The CareFlite helicopter was able to land and take off with the patient, but soon had to make an emergency landing at Mecham, a CareFlite dispatcher said at 10:35 p.m.

The dispatcher said he did not know what the emergency was.

A MedStar ambulance picked up the girl about 10:45 p.m. and continued the trip to JPS, Lyle said.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/03...g.html?rh=1

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 8th March 2014, 09:03

Medical helicopter bound for Mansfield makes emergency landing

A Cleveland Clinic Air Ambulance made an emergency landing at Port Bucyrus-Crawford County Airport on Friday evening.

According to Bucyrus Police Chief David Koepke, there were three members of the flight crew on board, along with the pilot, and no one was injured.

Cleveland Clinic Air Ambulance operated by PHI Air Medical

Koepke said Bucyrus Fire Department Captain Gordon Grove reports that approximately 5 miles east of the Bucyrus airport there was an unknown impact and damage to the aircraft and an alarm indicating an engine fire.

According to Koepke, Grove said the fire was extinguished in flight and the Cleveland Clinic helicopter then made the emergency landing at Port Bucyrus. The air ambulance was heading to Mansfield when the incident happened and no passenger was aboard.

“In rural areas we are fortunate to have emergency flight service for critical patients from a variety of major hospitals. When they fly over loud and fast it is easy to take for granted the intensity, stress and danger that the med flight crews and pilots face. We are thankful for their service,” Koepke said.

Brad Deutser of PHI Air Medical said it would not term the landing as one of an emergency.

“It was a precautionary landing,” Deutser said.

Deutser said he was not aware of a fire in the aircraft and that maintenance workers from the company were in route early Saturday morning to Port Bucyrus to investigate the cause of the precautionary landing.

No other information is available at this time and the incident is under investigation.

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/...nclick_check=1

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 2nd April 2014, 08:07

Northwest Medstar Upgrades from Astar to EC135

It was a case of "out with the old and in with the new" in Missoula as a brand-new medical helicpoter and its Montana team visited the two local hospitals they'll serve.

New: EC135

Northwest Medstar has replaced LifeFlight; the air ambulance service that was operated by Saint Patrick Hospital and also served Missoula's Community Hospital. Life Flight began operating in Missoula in the early 80's.

Old: Astar

The two hospitals merged their separate air ambulance services in 2012 and announced late last year that they entered into an agreement with the Spokane-based Northwest Medstar. The decision was estimated to save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

http://mtpr.org/post/sleek-new-medic...ce-missoula

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 6th June 2014, 09:04

EagleMed to Integrate New Helicopter Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System

EagleMed LLC critical care air transport company has begun flying its first Genesys Aerosystems HeliSAS 2-axis autopilot and stability augmentation system on one of its medically-equipped Eurocopters. EagleMed’s entire fleet of based Eurocopter AS350 helicopters will receive the system over the next three years.

The HeliSAS stability augmentation system provides stability and ease of handling. This reduces pilot workload while providing precise control during all modes of flight, regardless of wind conditions or shifts in weight.

EagleMed AS355N

“The HeliSAS 2-axis autopilot and stability augmentation system has a number of safety-related attributes that will enhance our daily rotor wing flight operations,” EagleMed President Larry Bugg said.

The attitude stabilization and force feel features of the new system enhance handling characteristics and mitigate inadvertent cyclic control inputs that could result in dangerous attitudes. The HeliSas system's two-axis autopilot allows for heading and navigation hold as well as vertical speed and altitude hold.

Safety Focus

EagleMed is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Services (CAMTS), which is the gold standard for patient care and safety across the operational spectrum of air medical transport services. EagleMed is one of only two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 135 charter certificate holders in the FAA Central Region to achieve Safety Management System (SMS) Level 2 distinction. Additionally, EagleMed received the ARGUS International, Inc. Gold Rating based on pilot qualifications and a comprehensive on-site safety audit of its aviation and maintenance operations.

Recognized as a leader in the industry, EagleMed received the 2013 Chairman’s Award and the 2010 President’s Award for Leadership and Safety from the Association of Air Medical Services. EagleMed also received the 2011 Safety Award from the Helicopter Association International, Best Practice in Just Culture from CAMTS; and the 2012 Pilot of the Year Award from the National EMS Pilots Association.

Advanced Training

EagleMed’s experienced and proficient team of commercial instrument rated rotor and Airline Transport Pilot rated fixed wing pilots undergo extensive hands-on training every four months to include FlightSafety International simulation training. EagleMed’s expert staff of critical care paramedics and Certified Flight Registered Nurses has advanced training in pediatric and adult care and utilize METIman Human Patient Simulators (adult, pediatric, and infant) to maintain the highest level of competency and proficiency.

http://www.jems.com/article/industry...icopter-autopi

**Aviafora Newsdesk** · 12th September 2014, 09:07

Life Flights Takes Delivery of Final AW119Kx

Life Flight Network has taken delivery of its 15th AW119Kx helicopter from AgustaWestland, the final aircraft ordered under a contract signed in February 2012.

The AW119Kx is a variant of the single-engine AW119 Koala family of aircraft. The aircraft features a number of upgrades incorporated as part of the Life Flight Network contract including a the Garmin G1000HTM flight management system.

The new avionics system includes synthetic vision, moving map display, highway in the sky as well as obstacle and terrain avoidance systems for enhanced situational awareness and improved overall safety.

The aircraft was assembled at AgustaWestland's Philadelphia assembly line and will join Life Flight Network’s Pacific Northwest-based fleet of aircraft.

The upgrades have brought new appeal to AW119 with the Kx variant showing itself to be an efficient EMS platform.

Life Flight Network provides air and ground critical care transportation for seriously ill or injured patients from the scene of an illness or accident or from one hospital to another.

http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/ro...fe-flight-net/

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