MVH Careflight
When it comes down to minutes or seconds between life and death, disability and ability, emergency medical services utilize air transportation to bring people the medical care they need. Whether someone is experiencing trauma, a heart attack, a stoke, or high-risk OB emergency, there are helicopters available to transport them to a hospital. Miami Valley Hospital being our region's only Level 1 Trauma Center has four helicopters and four ground mobile intensive care units available that they call Careflight. Careflight was the first air medical program in the region and is the 65th air ambulance program in the nation. Careflight is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Paramedics, registered nurses, pilots, mechanics, communications specialists, and emergency medical technicians are specially trained to operate Careflight. Each helicopter carries one pilot, two flight nurses, and up to two patients. The helicopters have twin engines and can reach speeds of 180 mph. The aircraft can climb to 10,000 feet and utilizes a dual Garmin GPS, cockpit voice recorder, terrain awareness warning system, night vision goggle lighting, and a weather radar. The innovation of air medical programs has created hope where ground medical services cannot.
(Hofstetter blog post #1)
This is one innovation that people take for granted, but I agree that having access to Careflight (and other emergency helicopters) has saved many lives. Helicopters can travel faster than other emergency vehicles, especially in locations where weather and traffic can cause delays.
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