Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Marc Allen on October 2, 2007 at 8:59pm

Hey Angie, I had another though. Do you have any idea what the cost of a flight with your company is? I've heard that it can be as high as $10,000. Does this sound about right? If so there has got to be some "economic triaging" being done by someone. Just a thought.

Permalink Reply by Bill Heizer F/F E.M/T.-P on January 7, 2008 at 8:55pm

The system that I work for has rotorwing capabilities, however the crew usually keeps the bird in a hanger,and it takes a good 5 to 10 minutes from the time the request is made until the bird lifts from the pad. Unless I have a lengthy extrication or the call is out in the middle of nowhere ( we have lots of canyons here!)
I usually elect to initiate ground transport and most of the time will be within 3 to 4 minute of arriving at the reciving center Level 2 facility when i get notified that the bird is available. Also when I am riding with the Vol. EMS service, I usually try to educate their personnel as to when calling for the bird is appropriate versus transporting the pt to the hospital

Permalink Reply by Chris Turner on January 14, 2008 at 12:51pm

I know that there is a service up here that has a $7000 fee just to get the bird off the pad. That is obviously waiverd if you cancel them en rounte, but from what I'm hearing, that is about the industry standard. I work with an RN from that company. I'll ask her next time what some of their rates are.

Permalink Reply by Annette on April 19, 2008 at 12:29pm

My service covers 530 square miles (plus). We usually place our aircraft on "stand-by" when the Fire Dept (bls) thinks they have a Trauma One patient. (We have alot of volunteer Depts in the outlying areas that get there long before I do, I respond from a hospital in town) I make the final call to dispatch them, when I know they meet the Trauma One Criteria and would benefit from immediate transport to a Level One Trauma Center. More time than not I launch them when extrication is going to take more than 20 minutes and transport to the nearest facility will be greater than 30 minutes. We have a great relationship with our helicopter service, I think good communication and constant training helps.

Permalink Reply by Brittany on June 12, 2008 at 7:51am

I'm relatively new in this field-- 2 yrs Basic, and just got my Medic card. I found it very interesting to hear so much good feedback on this topic. My volunteer department is an hour and forty-five minutes away from a Level I Trauma Center, and at least an hour from a Level 2. That's simply because there is no direct good roads to places. Last summer, we had a 4-wheeler accident and ended up flying the pt. It proved to be a wise decision because the pt had fairly serious injuries, even though he improved slightly on scene before flying. I personally have yet to call a helocopter (simply because of my lack of time on the dept, serious calls I've been on, etc.). In school, the concept of calling a helocoptor for an MI or CVA was brought up. To be honest, I'd never even heard that line of thought before, but it makes a lot of sense. Our nearest cath lab is at least an hour, hour and a half away. Like someone said already, it's a neat concept, and it needs to be refined a little so we make the best choices for our pts.

Permalink Reply by Paramedics do it better on June 16, 2008 at 5:34pm

this was a good thread!!! just when i would get a little agrivated at some comments the conversation would turn around. nice to see people thinking. basically it boils down to - there are good medics, and bad medics - there are good nurses and bad nurses. the general emergency population shouldnt be grouped together for a bad call to call a helo. if the patient meets ems criteria for a helo then call them - id much rather be over cautious than not enough. remember we dont have a CT, MRI or x-ray in the field for a POSSIBLE critical patient. Also remember that the mechinism of injury says alot. do whats BEST for the patient and everything we work out in the end.

Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on October 8, 2008 at 11:44am

To fly or not to fly? This is a question that plaques many Medics. It is especially odd in our area because we are surrounded by Hospitals, ER's, Trauma Centers etc. and eaxh one has a Flight crew. In my humble opinion, it should be based on one simple fact..."What is best for the patient?" If you know that the receiving ER will fly him/her out, then cut out the middle man, save your patient some valuable time, and call the bird. But, in the same breath, as a professional paramedic, I should be able to maintain a serious patient for an 8-10 minute transport by ground. My decision should not be based on bravado, supposed knowledge of hospital politics, or ego. It should be based on the overall best outcome for my patient(s).

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