Since their inception in 1972, medical helicopters have become an indispensable resource for EMS units, providing advantages that you cannot get with ordinary ground services.
SPARTA, Wis. (WXOW) – Since their inception in 1972, medical helicopters have become an indispensable resource for EMS units, providing advantages that you cannot get with ordinary ground services.
Equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and staffed by highly trained medical professionals, medical helicopters are made to ensure that patients receive the highest level of care during transit.
“We’re basically a flying ICU”, says Robert Laskey, a flight nurse with Gundersen Air. “So, if you see a piece of equipment in the ICU we have a version of it on the aircraft. We’ve got the breathing machines, the I.V. pumps, we carry 50 different medications, fluids, we carry blood, we carry plasma.”
These helicopters are designed to reach inaccessible or remote locations quickly to ensure that patients in critical condition receive the necessary care within the first 60 minutes after a traumatic injury or the onset of a medical emergency. Also known as the golden hour.
Whether it’s battling through dense fog, navigating stormy skies, or facing winter’s icy grip, the pilots of these flying ambulances are well-trained to handle the stress that comes their way in an already stressful situation.
Eliot Sprague is the lead pilot of GundersenAIR 1, and he says that just focusing on the specific role you play helps him stay cool and calm.
“As a pilot you really have to isolate your job. Your job is to get the med-crew and that patient from A to B as safely as possible So you need to remove the emergency of the situation, and understand that you are a pilot, you’re here to fly the aircraft. Not work with the patient and get too involved.”
As EMS helicopters continue to play a crucial role in saving lives, one thing remains certain; The skies above are no longer just open space, but rather a lifeline for those in need of urgent medical attention.
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