Air Transport=
=
Poli=
cy:
Air transportation should be used whenever patient care =
can
be improved by decreasing transport time to the most appropriate facility o=
r by
giving advanced care not available from ground EMS
services. This policy d=
oes
not address every possible situation, thus the attending paramedic may devi=
ate
as necessary based on the situation.
All deviations from the policy must have the prior approval of medic=
al
control.
Purp=
ose:
The
purpose of this policy is to:
- Provide
rapid transport to an appropriate medical facility
- Improve
patient care in the prehospital setting
- Allow
for expedient transport in serious, mass casualty situations
- Provide
life-saving treatment such as blood transfusion
Proc=
edure:
1. Air medical transportation sh=
ould
be considered if any of the following criteria apply:
- High
priority patient with > 20 minute time from arrival on the scene un=
til
expected arrival at a local medical facility
- Multiple
casualty incident with red / yellow tag patients
- Multi-trauma
or medical patient requiring life-saving treatment not available in
prehospital environment (blood transfusion, operative intervention,
etc…)
2. Patient transport by ground
ambulance will not be delayed more than 5 minutes while waiting for air med=
ical
transportation. If the patien=
t is
packaged and ready for transport and the helicopter is not on the ground, or
within 5 minutes, the transportation will be initiated by ground ambulance.=
3. If a potential for air transp=
ort is
anticipated, but not yet confirmed, an air medical transport service will be
placed on stand-by at the request of the attending paramedic after consulta=
tion
with first responders on the scene or based on initial dispatch information=
.
4. The attending paramedic will
request air medical transportation through the Catawba County
Communications Center.
The attendi=
ng
paramedic will provide a minimum of the following information to the Catawba County Communicatio=
ns
Center:<=
/span>
- Number
of patients
- Age
of patients
- Sex
of patients
- Weight
of patients
- Mechanism
of injury (MVC, fall, etc…)
- Location
of the helispot (GPS coordinates or street address)<=
/li>
The EMS Manager will be
notified. <=
/p>
5. Pre-established helispots (ie:
H-50, Marshall Steam Plant, Propst EMS Base, Hickory Airport,
etc) may be used as appropriate.
6. If the scene or patient situa=
tion
changes after activation of the air medical service and air transport is not
appropriate (or is not appropriate from the scene), the attending paramedic=
may
cancel the request for air medical transportation or may divert the helicop=
ter
to a local helipad.