Life Flight II To Serve 150-mile Area

Life Flight, a Baptist Health Systems program operated by Air Methods Corp. has announced the addition of a second BK-117 air ambulance (file photo of type, below) in the northern Florida town of Green Cove Springs.

Life Flight II will assist fire and rescue agencies within a 150-mile radius of Reynolds including Clay, St. Johns, Putnam and southern Duval counties, said medical base supervisor Toby Witt, transporting patients to trauma centers and other hospital. Life Flight I, based in Jackson, serves a 150-mile radius of Baptist Medical Center.

 The twin engine helicopters fly about 155 miles per hour, each carrying a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic crew, according to The Florida Times-Union. Each provides such advanced life support equipment as a ventilator, defibrillator/pacemaker, three-channel IV pump, more than 40 different medications, advanced airway management equipment, two multi-function monitors and end-tidal carbon dioxide (CO2) detectors.

Having served North Florida for more than 27 years, the company transports adult and pediatric patients with traumatic injuries, as well as medical emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes and respiratory problems. The program was accredited by the Commission on Air Medical Transport Services in October 2006, the first in Florida to achieve such a distinction.

The new location will offer the opportunity to effectively serve more of North Florida. "They know when they need to use us," Witt said, at a grand opening event Monday. "We get the worst of the worst."

The need for a second aeromedical unit stems from rapid area growth. Ground ambulances are encountering more and more transport delays, Witt said. "We wanted the second location to be in the middle of all the growth, but close enough to Jacksonville to support [home base at Baptist Medical Center]."

"You do great things," said Green Cove Springs Police Chief Robert Musco. "You really are lifesavers. I'm very, very happy to have you here."

FMI: http://community.e-baptisthealth.com/services/comm_transport.html