Tue, Aug 14, 2012
Three New EC155s First To Be Put Into Emergency Medical Service In The U.S.
Three new maize-and-blue helicopters will soon be saving lives in the air above the Great Lakes states, and speeding patients toward advanced care at the University of Michigan Health System’s hospitals. The arrival of three new American Eurocopter 155 helicopters marks the beginning of a new era for the 29-year-old U-M Survival Flight program, which was the first medical flight service in Michigan. The first one entered service Friday afternoon.
The Health System chose the new aircraft to replace three Bell 430 helicopters that have been icons since 1998. More than 10,000 critically ill and injured patients and donated organs for transplant have passed through their cabin doors, each flight carrying a unique story of pain and hope. Together, they have flown the distance to the moon and back several times.
Now, Survival Flight will be able to travel further, faster and more quietly, using the first EC155s to be put into emergency medical service in the U.S. They will enhance the Health System’s ability to provide advanced, high quality and safe care to patients from across the state, region and nation in partnership with other institutions.
The new helicopters are equipped with advanced equipment and safety features, including the ability to fly in low-visibility conditions. They have nearly 50 percent more cabin space for nurses and patients, an all-glass cockpit and a 500-mile range allows them to fly as far as Syracuse, NY, or Louisville, KY, without refueling.
Survival Flight helicopters are essentially mobile trauma centers and intensive care units, complete with state-of-the-art lifesaving technology and the latest navigational equipment that allows them to fly safely in all types of weather.
During transports, the helicopters are staffed by two flight nurses, who are also licensed as paramedics. Survival Flight is the only health care provider in the state to require this high standard of dual certification. The 21 full-time nurses are cross-trained to treat everyone from newborns to geriatric patients.
(Image Provided by Eurocopter)
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