Life Net SC

1
Life Net SC
Operated By
2
Outline

• The Air Medical Industry-Past Present
• Air Methods Inc. / LifeNet SC
• The impact of weather on air med operations
• Sources of weather information
• Safety enhancements equipment upgrades
• to air medical aircraft

3
Air Medical-Past

• Concepts originally developed from military
  applications.
• 1926- U.S. Army Air Corps uses a converted
  DeHaviland aircraft to transport patients from
  Nicaragua to base in Panama.
• 1928- First civilian air medical transport
  program established by Australian Royal Flying
  Doctor Service.

4
Air Medical-Past(Cont)

• 1950-1953 Korean War-first widespread use of
  helicopters for battlefield medical evacuation.
• 1965-1975 Vietnam War- expansion and refinement
  of military air medical evacuation procedures.
• 1972- First civilian hospital based program
  established in the U.S.-Flight For Life at St.
  Anthonys Hospital in Denver, Co.
• 1980- Air Methods Corporation founded.

5
Air Medical-Present

• Over 1100 air medical aircraft in use today
• 840 rotary wing aircraft (AS-350, Bell 206L,
  407, 230, BK-117, A-109)
• 260 fixed wing (Pilatus PC-12, Cessna Citation,
  Beech KingAir, Lear 35)
• 400,000 helicopter missions flown annually.
• 150,000 aircraft missions flown annually.

6
Air Medical-Present(Cont)

• Typical mission profile
• 54- hospital to hospital (inter-facility)
• 33- accident scene to closest appropriate trauma
  center
• 13- other (organ procurement and transport)

7
Air Methods Corporation

• Largest provider of air medical emergency
  transport services and systems in the US.
• Established in 1980.
• Based in Englewood, Co.
• Operate approximately 320 rotary and fixed wing
  aircraft.

8
Air Methods Corporation(Cont)

• 253 hospital based (HBM) and community based
  (CBM) programs in 43 states.
• Design, manufacture, and install aircraft medical
  interiors to civilian and military contracts
  through an in-house Products Division.
• Provide nationwide flight dispatching through
  its subsidiary LifeCom.

9
Mercy Air
10
LifeCom

• Air Methods flight dispatching center for all
  company aircraft.
• Located in Omaha, Nebraska.
• 24/7 operations, 365 days a year.
• Utilizes interactive mapping, automatic GPS
  tracking (Outerlink), online weather data, and
  state of the art communication gear to dispatch
  and track all aircraft.

11
(No Transcript)
12
Flight Dispatching Procedure

• LifeCom receives initial call from on scene
  medical personnel or transferring hospital doctor
  requesting an aircraft to launch or be put on a
  standby status.
• Lifecom determines the closest available aircraft
  and contacts duty pilot for a weather check via
  two way 800 mhz radio.
• Duty pilot checks weather and advises Go or
  No-Go mission status.
• If weather is a Go, LifeCom provides
  destination coordinates, landing zone info,
  patient information and coordinates with
  receiving hospital.
• LifeCom tracks aircraft in flight utilizing
  Outerlink, an automatic GPS flight tracking
  program.

13
Life Net SC
14
LifeNet SC

• Created in May 2007 with the merger of CareForce
  (Richland Memorial Hospital) LifeReach
  (Providence Hospital).
• Four community based programs Irmo, Camden,
  Orangeburg Augusta, Ga.
• 24/7 operations, 365 days a year.
• Each base has crew living quarters, a maintenance
  facility, a lighted helipad and refueling
  capability.

15
LifeNet SC(Cont)

• All three bases operate the AS-350B2 A-Star
  helicopter.
• Missions include inter facility transfer, scene
  calls, transfer flights to the Augusta Burn
  Center and Duke Medical and NICU/PICU flights.
• Area of operations include all of SC, portions of
  NC and Ga.
• Supported by company aircraft based in Charlotte,
  NC and Augusta, Ga.

16
LifeNet SC(Cont)

• Landing zones include
• Hospital helipads
• Airports
• Roadways
• Interstates
• Open fields
• School grounds
• Private or public property
• Athletic fields

17
17
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
AS-350B2 A-Star
22
23
A-Star Facts

• Single engine-732 shp / 3-bladed main rotor
• Max gwt- 4961 lbs. / Vne-155 knots (178 mph)
• 20,000 ft maximum altitude
• 143 gal.tank (300 flight time / 300 nm range)
• Single pilot, VFR aircraft with emergency IFR
  capability.

24
A-Star Facts (Cont)

• Normal crew- pilot, flight nurse and flight
  paramedic.
• Designed to carry one patient on the LifePort
  stretcher system.
• Reconfigurable to carry a NICU isolette.
• Capable of carrying a third rider passenger.

25
Medical Equipment

• Zoll Cardiac Monitor / Defibrillator
• 12-lead capabilities
• Defibrillation / Cardioversion
• Transcutaneous Pacing
• LTV 1200 Ventilator
• IMED Pumps
• Syringe pumps
• Maintains up to 6 separate infusions
• IOs EZ IO as well as PYNG

26
Medical Equipment

• Propaq
• ECG
• BP
• Pulse Oximetry
• Cont ETCO2
• Two Invasive Lines
• ICP
• Arterial Lines
• Swan/Ganz

27
(No Transcript)
28
(No Transcript)
29
Medical Capabilities

• Able to initiate or maintain critical care
  environment throughout transport.
• Have availability to medications not normally
  carried on ground units.
• Vasoactive Medications (Blood pressure)
• Analgesics (Pain meds)
• Sedatives / Paralytics
• Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI)

30
Crew Qualifications

• Pilots Commercial or ATP certificated,
  instrument rated, 2000 minimum flight hours.
• Registered Nurse 3 years critical care
  experience.
• Paramedic 5 years Crew Chief street
  experience
• (High Volume, 10,000 calls or more).
• A P certified mechanic.

31
Weather Impact, Sources Challenges
32
Weather Impact on Air Med Operations

• NTSB has determined that poor weather is the
  greatest hazard to EMS helicopters.
• In the early 1990s, 32 of all EMS helicopter
  accidents were caused by flight into
  deteriorating weather. (This number has declined
  by 15 in the late 1990s)
• 75 of all weather related accidents resulted in
  fatalities with two thirds having no survivors at
  all.

33
Weather Impact on LifeNet SC Operations

• Jan Mar fog precipitation.
• Mar-May TRWs, wind / turbulence, frontal
  passages.
• Jun-Sep Heat high density altitude.
• Oct-Dec Best flying weather

34
Air Methods Weather Minimums
DAY

• 800 feet / 2 sm vis- local
• 800 feet / 3 sm vis- cross country (35 nm)

NIGHT

• 1000 feet / 3 sm vis- local
• 1000 feet / 5 sm vis- cross country (35 nm)
• 3 to Go, 1 to say No rule in effect

35
Sources of Weather Information

• WSI- dedicated weather computer. Other bases use
  Meterologix.
• Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) Wx
  program
• AWOS / ASOS
• PIREPS
• FSS
• An accurate Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is
  vital to mission planning.

36
Industry Weather Challenges

• Most helicopters are single pilot, VFR certified.
• The majority of the helicopters have no
• flight stability systems
• autopilots
• onboard weather detection / avoidance devices
• graphic weather displays / data-linked weather
  info
• cockpit voice recorders / flight data recorders
• Little or no weather information is available
  near accident scenes.
• No flight simulator minimums required and few
  used to practice instrument or emergency
  procedures.

37
Air Medical-Future

• New safety equipment on the horizon
• Terrain Awareness Warning System (TAWS)
• Night Vision Goggles (NVG)
• Better GPS units with NEXRAD overlays
• Installation of existing weather detection and
  avoidance gear (Stormscope, airborne radar)
• Fading out of the old Rescue Mentality.
• Increased safety focus by the FAA, NTSB, medical
  associations and air medical companies.

38
Summary

• The air medical industry is an important aspect
  of the healthcare system in the US.
• Approximately 550,000 critically injured and sick
  patients are transported each year.
• The weather has the most impact on the safety of
  air medical flights.
• The industry and several government agencies are
  working to increase the safety of air medical
  operations.

39
AND REMEMBER
SEATBELTS HELMETS SAVE LIVES
40
(No Transcript)
41
Questions?