Three Emory Flight Helicopters Take
Wing Across Georgia
Emory Healthcare has signed an agreement with Rocky Mountain
Helicopters, effective Thursday, October 25, to assume medical oversight
for three specially equipped A-star 350 helicopters based in Griffin,
Jefferson and Cartersville.
Designed as airborne critical care units with a cruising speed of 140
miles per hour, the helicopters are on 24-hour standby to lift critically
ill and injured patients from a 150 mile radius around these communities
to the closest appropriate hospital. While Rocky Mountain has offered
medical transport services in these communities over the last 18 years,
most recently as LifeNet, the new agreement joins the country's oldest
and most experienced provider of helicopter medical transport services
to the state's largest and most comprehensive healthcare system. This
includes Emory's extensive emergency medicine and related patient care
and healthcare personnel training programs. In fact, Emory physicians
and the medical staff of the Emory Flight helicopters will also be actively
engaged in continuing education of health providers in North Georgia
about the newest advances in emergency medical response.
Each of the newly named Emory Flight helicopters is staffed by a pilot,
nurse and paramedic and linked through advanced technology communications
to physician specialists in the receiving hospital or facility. The
decision as to where the patient will be transported (whether or not
the closest appropriate facility is part of Emory Healthcare) will be
based on medical needs and the request of the referring physician or
EMS personnel.
Medical director of the Emory Flight program is Alexander Isakov, M.D.,
an experienced flight physician and assistant professor in Emory University
School of Medicine's Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Isakov received
his residency training in emergency medicine from University of Massachusetts
Medical Center, then completed two years advanced training at Boston
EMS, which handles 911 responses for the city of Boston. He was a flight
physician with the University of Massachusetts LifeFlight Program for
five years and spent four years in the U.S. Navy in operational medical
support. He remains active in the Navy Reserve.
Dr. Isakov says, "The beauty of the Emory Flight program is that, thanks
to the highly sophisticated crew and on-board technology, protocols
are implemented and care begins the moment the helicopter sets down
in the place from which the patient is being moved."
- The nurse and paramedic who accompany patients are highly trained
in critical care, with additional training provided on an ongoing
basis by Emory's Department of Emergency Medicine and other medical
specialties represented within Emory Healthcare. They also are in
constant contact with physicians during transportation of the patient.
- Each of the A-Star helicopters is outfitted with technology for
aggressive monitoring, including pulse oximetry and invasive and noninvasive
hemodynamic monitors. This means physicians waiting on the ground
have vital information in hand when the patient arrives. Other technology
enables intensive patient care, including ventilators and airway management
supplies.
"Emory Flight is another step in Emory Healthcare's efforts to provide
the broadest spectrum of care possible to our region of the country,"
says John Fox, president of Emory Healthcare. "We believe this agreement
is good for Georgia. These services enhance the capabilities of local
emergency medical service responders and healthcare in the state, especially
in situations where rapid access to definitive care has been shown to
improve health outcomes."
"Rocky Mountain Helicopters is excited about the opportunity to augment
Emory Healthcare's existing high quality specialty services," says Gail
Helmly, RN, program director for Rocky Mountain Helicopters. She adds,
"Emory Healthcare's reputation in the community for outstanding service
brings increased capability to an already successful air medical transport
program."
Emory Healthcare comprises those components of Emory University's Woodruff
Health Sciences Center dedicated to patient care: The Emory Clinic,
Emory Children's Center, Emory University Hospital, Crawford Long Hospital,
Wesley Woods Center, the jointly owned Emory-Adventist Hospital, and
EHCA, LLC, a limited liability company created in collaboration with
HCA-the Healthcare Company. The Emory Healthcare Affiliate Network comprises
an additional 47 hospitals representing 66 communities and more than
6,000 physicians throughout Georgia.
Rocky Mountain Helicopters has been associated with the air medical
industry for over 25 years. It was the provider of choice of the first
aeromedical transport program in the United States, located in Denver,
Colorado. Rocky Mountain Helicopters continues to lead the industry
as the nation's largest provider of both the traditional hospital based
aeromedical program and the stand alone, or alternative provider services
program. It currently operates aircraft at 59 locations throughout the
United States and Puerto Rico and currently employs over 750 personnel
nationwide, including medical staff.
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