1. Baptist LifeFlight

2. History of Aeromedicine
Began With Korean War
Evolution Continued Into Vietnam War
Vietnam Became Origin of Modern Day Paramedics
With the Huey, there was a larger aircraft used with medically trained personnel on board providing care en route to field hospitals. This data was evaluated and the concept was adopted for civilian use.

3. Civilian Use Begins Flight For Life Began Operations In 1972
Baptist LifeFlight Began Operations In 1977
3rd Oldest Flight Program In U.S.
Remind audience that we’re the 3rd oldest hospital based air medical service in the U.S. and the first in Florida

4. Baptist LifeFlight Serving Community For 31 Years
Oldest Flight Program In Florida
#1 In Nation In Customer Satisfaction
Baptist Hospital In Top 100 Places To Work In U.S. By Fortune Magazine For Past 7 Years

5. Baptist LifeFlight
Now With Four Locations To Better Serve The Community
All Helicopters Dispatched From One Local Communications Center
One Call Will Access The Closest Aircraft
Call us and we’ll send you however many helis you need.

6. Why Use A Helicopter? Rapid Transport The Golden Hour
Definitive Care Is In the O.R.
The Nearest Hospital May Not Be Prepared For This Level Of Treatment
Specialty Care May Be Needed
Discuss how the golden hour originated with trauma but has been adopted by other branches of medicine (cardiology, neurology, etc.)The benefit of LifeFlight is that we get the patient to the closest doctor that can fix their problem faster, not just the closest doctor.

7. Indications - Trauma State Trauma Alert Criteria ACS Guidelines
GCS Less Than 10 OR A Falling Score
Penetrating Injuries
Depressed Skull Fractures
Suspected Cardiac Or Intrathoracic Injuries
Patients At Extremes Of Age
Accident Mechanism

8. Indications - Trauma Prolonged Extrication Traffic Congestion
Overwhelmed Local Resources
Environmental Roadblocks
No ALS Care Available

9. Indications - Medical Chest Pain/ AMI Breathing Difficulty
Suspected CVA
Poisonings/ Overdoses
Remind them that it’s a good idea to call us for medical patients.
Many times we don’t get a call because people think that patients “aren’t sick enough”.

10. Crew Configuration
Medical Crew Consists of Paramedic and Registered Nurse
Paramedics Come From High Volume EMS Systems and Fire Departments
Nurses Have Background in Both ICU and Emergency Department
Both Crewmembers Undergo Further Training With Medical Control MDs
Nurses and paramedics need 3 years minimum. Nurses have to have one year each of ER and ICU experience, and must also be an EMT at minimum.

11. Specialized Training ACLS, PALS, BTLS Crew Resource Management
HUET training
Advanced Procedures
Central Line Placement
Rapid Sequence Induction
Needle Thoracostomy
Pericardiocentesis
Stress that our advanced skills aren’t used on every patient, and that our main asset to the caller is the speed with which we transport the patient.

12. LifeFlight 1
Based at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, FL

13. LifeFlight 2
Based at
EMS 20 Station
in Semmes, AL

14. LifeFlight 3
-Based at Evergreen Medical Center in Evergreen, AL

15. LifeFlight 4
Based at Bobby Chain Airport in Hattiesburg, MS

16. Latest Aviation Technology

17. Experience Counts!
Pilots Have An Average Of 3000 Flight Hours Before Being Hired
Pilots Receive Specialized Training
Certified In Aircraft Type
Specially Trained For Non-Certified Landing Zones
NVG Certified
We don’t often land at airports. We land in yards, roads, etc, and our pilots get training in landing in those areas.

18. Night Vision Goggles

19. Night Vision Goggles (NVGs)
Recommended By AAMS, NTSB, And The FAA To Prevent Incidents/accidents
Dramatically Improves Ability To See In No Or Low Light Conditions
LifeFlight Is The Only Program On The Gulf Coast Using NVGs

20. Night Vision Goggles Amplify Available Light Up To 40,000 Times
Exterior Lights (Night Sun, Exterior Lights, etc) can enhance NVG effectiveness
NVGs Allow Brighter Cockpit Lighting
$100,000 Investment Per Ship

21. Celestial Light

22. Cigarette Lighter

23. Cigarette Lighter 1000ft AGL

24. Cell Phone Light 2km

25. Cloud Formations

27. Commitment To Safety
All LifeFlight Aircraft Have Excellent Safety Record
NVGs Add To Safety For Night Ops
Satellite Tracking Systems On All Aircraft
Expanded Operational Control

28. 1-800-874-1555 One Call Does It All! Auto-Launch Vs Standby
Location With Crossroad
Landing Zone Contact
Hazards in Landing Zone Area
We’ll stand by, but we’d rather be launched. We’d rather be cancelled over a scene and not needed than have a requestor hold off on calling us because they didn’t want to “bother the crew” and then need us when they arrive on scene.

29. Special Considerations
Haz-Mat
Multiple Patients
Scene Security
Patient Size
Family Members

30. OK, We Called But You Didn’t Come!

31. Reasons We Can’t Be There When You Call
Weather
Here, There, In Between
Maintenance
Scheduled
Unscheduled
On Another Flight
We ask the pilot if we can go, and he makes a determination based on weather at requestor, weather at heli base, and the weather in between. Pilot isn’t told what type of mission until we say yes or no. We’ll have a backup in place for maintenance before we take an aircraft out of service for scheduled maintenance. If something breaks, we fix it as soon as possible. If we can’t fix it in a day, we get a backup aircraft.

32. Landing Zone Preparation
(S) Size of Landing Zone: 100 X 100
(L) Landing Area: Mark With Cones
During Day And Lights At Night
(O) Obstacles: Poles, Wires, Trees, Etc.
(W) Winds: Current Wind Direction
Landing area- We can always see a fire apparatus. If they use that to mark the LZ, that’s fine. Obstacles- stress the unlit cell towers and high tension lines. Tell them we’re looking for them to warn us of obstacle within a half mile radius of where we’re landing

33. Landings Helicopter Landings Generate High Winds
Have All LZ Crew Face Away From LZ or Have Eye Protection
Close All Doors And Windows
Secure All Loose Objects
Encourage crews to wear safety glasses. The lowered shield on a fire helmet still allows for dirt to blow into the responders’ eyes.

34. Landings (Cont.) Stop All Radio Traffic Including Emergency Vehicles
All White Lights Off
Wet Down Dirty or Sandy Areas
No Radio Traffic Other Than LZ Officer To Aircraft
If Unsafe, Call “Abort” And Wave Off
White lights- hand lights, headlights, floodlights on fire apparatus. Don’t aim these at aircraft, and don’t use flash photography at night.

35. Roadway Landings
If Using Roadway For LZ, Be Sure Traffic Flow Is Blocked In All Directions
Use Apparatus To Block Roads
Constantly Monitor Motorists For Unexpected Actions
Watch For Bystanders

36. Staging Apparatus
LifeFlight Recommends Positioning Fire Apparatus Near LZ And Keeping Firefighters On The Protected Side Of The Apparatus While Aircraft Is Landing
This Practice Provides Greater Margin Of Safety Than Having Unprotected Personnel At The End Of Charged Line During Landings

37. Ground Operations LZ Officer To Remain In LZ For Security
Tail Rotor Guard For Hot Loads
Only Emergency Personnel Allowed Inside LZ
Scene Control Is Critical!!!
If they can spare the manpower, leave the LZ officer to watch for people walking toward the aircraft.

38. Security and Crowd Control
Keep Bystanders Over 200’ From LZ And Helicopter
Keep Non-Essential Personnel Out Of Approach And Departure Paths
Ensure No Smoking Or Hazardous Activity Within 200’

39. Protect Your Patient Remain In Safe Area
Report And Assessment In Ambulance If Possible
Protect Patient From Flying Debris If Outside

40. Crew Assistance Protective Clothing And Eye Protection
Flight Crew Will Request Specific Responders For Assistance
Do Not Approach Aircraft Unless
Directed By Flight Crew
Because of our stretcher system, we shouldn’t need assistance unless we’re doing a double carry. We’ll point out the people that we need clearly if we need help. Stress that we need to keep the number of people at the aircraft to a minimum.

41. Always Avoid the Tail Rotor!!

42. Hot & Cold Loads Hot Engines Running
Hearing And Eye Protection Necessary
Preferred When Patient Is Readily Accessible
Cold
Aircraft Shut Down
Used When Access To Patient Is Delayed
DON’T APPROACH AIRCRAFT UNTIL CREW SIGNALS!!
Many times the LZ officer wants to walk over to the aircraft after we’ve touched down. PLEASE DON’T APPROACH UNLESS WE SIGNAL FOR YOU TO DO SO!! This is safer for everyone involved.

43. When We’re Gone
Please Maintain Integrity Of The LZ For Several Minutes After Departure
In An Unforeseen Emergency, We Will Return To The LZ
Keep LZ open until you can’t see the aircraft anymore. Once we’re that far away it won’t make sense for us to come back to our departure point. Hold LZ open for a couple of minutes max.

44. Summary Turn On Vehicle Lights No Flares
Turn Off White Lights For Landings And Takeoffs
No Spotlights Aimed At Aircraft
No Hand Signals Necessary
LZ Officer Has Overall Authority For LZ

45. Questions?
Questions?

46. Thanks For All You Do!
Thanks For All You Do!