Critical Care Team Gets King Air 100
Schumpert Health System of Shreveport, LA has unveiled its
newest, life-saving toy: a King Air 100 air ambulance at a
cost of around $1 million.
The aircraft (type shown above) is configured to carry up to two
patients and three medical crew members and is equipped for the
longer distance transports. The King Air joins the facility's Life
Air Rescue helicopter, which is a joint venture between Christus
Schumpert and Willis-Knighton Medical Center, according to The
Shreveport Times.
Rounding out the hospital-based transport fleet are ground
ambulances, including a specially-equipped pediatric ambulance for
Christus Schumpert Sutton Children's Medical Center.
"It gives us another component of our comprehensive transport
program," said Wes Roan, director of clinical transport services at
Christus Schumpert. "We will have dedicated flight crew and medical
crew here at Schumpert that are specially trained."
CHRISTUS Schumpert Health System is a nonprofit system based out
of Dallas, TX. The hospital care organization has been in business
since 1894. The hospital has been planning for fixed-wing
transports for about a year-- as fixed-winged aircraft can
travel a longer distances than a helicopter.
This addition means that higher level health care options are
now more readily accessible... such as pediatric cardiac surgery,
or thoracic surgery in hospitals in San Antonio and the Houston
Medical Center. Transports of this duration originally meant taking
the Life Air Rescue Helicopter out of local service for four hours
or more.
Patients in areas outside of the helicopter's range of the
150-mile radius that covers Northwest Louisiana, East Texas, and
Southern Arkansas, can now be flown in to Shreveport for services
available there. Currently, these trips are made by ground
ambulance.
"To my knowledge, this is the only
dedicated fixed-wing air ambulance in north Louisiana, Arkansas and
east Texas," said Roan, who added the hospital will be making runs
for other medical centers when the plane is available.
Life Air Rescue's current primary aircraft is an American
Eurocopter EC-135 with a cruising speed of 150-160 mph with a start
up/shut down times of less that a minute -- eliminating the need
for hot loads and unloads -- and is capable of transporting two
patients and three crew. The reserve unit is a BO-105.
Hospital officals expect the King Air to fly 85 to 100 air
transports during the first year.