Commitment to safety and outstanding patient care.
Always ready to respond when it matters most.
Our patient advocates are standing by.
(GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colorado, May 6, 2021) – LifeNet Inc., a division of Air Methods, announced that LifeNet 3-2 will now be based at the Hartford Municipal Airport. The new base location will ensure residents in the Hartford region and surrounding areas will have access to air medical services – resulting in quicker response times for emergent and trauma situations.
Air medical services provide essential lifesaving services throughout the country. During missions, LifeNet’s highly skilled medical teams care for patients with lifesaving interventions. LifeNet crews are trained to provide trauma care after an accident and can administer clot-busting medications that must be given shortly after a major stroke to significantly improve outcomes. With the continued consolidation of hospitals and the trend towards centers with specialized heart or neurological care, the clinical support and speed of missions is critical to giving patients the best possible outcomes.
The decision to open a base in Hartford comes after an extensive review of the local needs. Recognizing the regional growth in this area, Air Methods and local community and hospital leaders identified the need for the additional air medical services.
“We are regularly reviewing the best distribution of our services to support communities with the best possible emergency medical options,” stated Sam Nepple, Director of Base Integration at Air Methods. “LifeNet’s commitment to this region reflects a desire to always provide citizens with the best opportunity to reach trauma care within the critical golden hour and to help reduce response times during other life-threatening emergencies.”
LifeNet will provide air medical services 24/7/365 to the Hartford region and surrounding communities. The base will be staffed by at least four crew members, including pilots, flight nurses, flight paramedics, and mechanics, and it will operate an EC135 helicopter.
“As an in-network provider in Wisconsin with a robust patient advocacy team to help patients navigate post-flight insurance requirements, it is our goal to keep our patients’ out-of-pocket expenses low,” said Lydia Oppen, Midwest account executive for Air Methods. “And we do this, unlike many other air medical companies, without ever requiring or asking anyone to purchase air medical memberships, which are both an unnecessary and unregulated expense for any Wisconsin.”
###
About Air MethodsAir Methods is the leading air medical service, delivering lifesaving care to more than 70,000 people every year. With nearly 40 years of air medical experience, Air Methods is the preferred partner for hospitals and one of the largest community-based providers of air medical services. United Rotorcraft is the Company’s products division specializing in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. Air Methods’ fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features more than 450 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
Media Contacts:Doug FlandersVP Corporate Communications, Air Methods*protected email*
Adam BeesonAmendola Communications for Air Methods(847) 867-0048*protected email*
New York currently does not allow air ambulances to carry and transfuse its own blood products. Recently, several medical directors from our LifeNet bases wrote an op-ed calling for the state legislature to change this law.
We write as the medical directors of LifeNet of New York to bring attention to a key medical issue for emergency patients in New York, impacting patients for decades without being corrected. Our service provides emergency critical care to patients across the state at a moment’s notice, an ICU-level care for the most critically ill and injured patients who require transport to tertiary or quaternary care facilities to treat their illness or injury. LifeNet of New York has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 health crisis, including transporting critical patients on ventilators from an overwhelmed facility in Queens to hospitals in upstate New York and out-of-state, an endeavor documented in multiple news reports.
While we are proud of the medical care provided by LifeNet of New York, we are writing today to ask the New York State Legislature to authorize our service to carry and transfuse our own blood products to our patients that need these therapies. Air Methods treats patients in 48 states across the U.S., and New York is currently the only state where regulations do not allow our clinical team to monitor, store, and transfuse blood products. We must be able to use every health resource we have to treat our patients, but the state of New York has tied one hand behind our back.
When we are dispatched to transport a patient who requires a blood transfusion, LifeNet of New York’s nurses and paramedics cannot deliver that care. Instead, we must rely on the sending facility to have enough blood to transfuse the patient before transport, which is not often the case in the small rural hospitals to which we respond. Our service already has a national contract in place with the American Red Cross to carry two units of universal packed red blood cells on every helicopter and where available, plasma as well. This is more than some small rural hospitals in New York have in reserves at any given time, yet we are prohibited from using these resources in New York.
Moreover, when we transport trauma patients from the scene of injury, we do not have our own blood and plasma to transfuse to these patients as they are bleeding to death. The only medical treatment that the state of New York will currently allow our flight nurses and paramedics to keep readily available to patients in hemorrhagic shock is salt water, either normal saline or lactated Ringers. These fluids are no substitute for blood products because they do not stop bleeding or carry oxygen. Instead, these fluids dilute the bloodstream, worsening patient outcomes.
There is a tangible human cost to the outdated statutes in New York. Our flight nurses and paramedics chose their profession because they want to save lives, not watch patients bleed to death receiving salt water instead of blood products because their hands are tied by outdated state regulations. Across our state borders, LifeNet of New York’s sister air medical programs are able to store and provide blood products as a readily available resource. We at LifeNet of New York ask that our state government gives New Yorkers the same chance for survival that New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut authorize for their residents.
We would like to thank Senator Metzger for her leadership on this critical health issue for patients in New York, by sponsoring S. 8346. We ask the New York State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo to support this common sense issue now and update the outdated state statutes that unnecessarily put New Yorkers at a disadvantage.
Dr. David FE Stuhlmiller, MD FACEP FAEMS CMTEPhysician Advisor and Medical DirectorLifeNet of New York(973) 879-9053*protected email*
Dr. Stephen Hassett MD FACEPAssociate Professor Emergency MedicineAlbany Medical CenterPhysician Medical DirectorLifeNet of New York*protected email*
Dr. Beth Linkenheil, DO FACEPChief of Emergency MedicineDirector of Emergency Medical ServicesGuthrie Health SystemPhysician Medical DirectorLifeNet of New York*protected email*
Dr. Luke Duncan, MDAssociate Professor of Emergency MedicineAssociate Professor of Surgical Critical CareAlbany Medical CenterPhysician Medical DirectorLifeNet of New York*protected email*
Dr. Maja Lundborg-Gray, MD, FAAEM, FACEPPhysician Medical DirectorLifeNet of New YorkFort Drum, Potsdam, Seneca Falls, Watertown bases
(GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colorado, September 13, 2019) – Air Methods, the leading air medical service provider, will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its LifeNet of the Heartland Omaha base this week. The event, which will occur on Saturday, September 14 starting at 3 pm will be held at the Flight Deck: 2929 California St Suite #1015, Omaha, NE 68131.
Attendees will have an opportunity to speak with crew members from the base about the history of the program as well as how current day air medical services compare to those of 40 years ago. In addition, attendees can view LifeNet aircraft so they can see where the crew works each day.
“It has been our honor to serve Omaha and the surrounding region for more than 40 years,” said Ryan Penrose, senior account executive for Air Methods. “Our entire crew is proud to be part of this community and are committed to continuing the tradition of superior air medical service. Nebraska is facing the same challenges that the rest of the United States is where hospitals are closing so air medical services are an increasingly critical part of the healthcare ecosystem. Being engrained in a community is critical for us and for our patients.”
Proud History of Service
LifeNet’s Omaha team has been committed to the region for more than 40 years. Established in 1978, the organization is a full-service air medical transport provider that has completed more than 10,000 transports of patients over the years. In addition, the Omaha base averages 315 flight hours a year, which uses more than 1,680 gallons of fuel. On average, the helicopter can be at a call in 8-10 minutes.
When the Omaha base was launched four decades ago, it was located at the old Creighton University Medical Center. Over the years, the base moved, and as has the medical center. Recently, the old hospital was renovated and is now known as the Flight Deck, which is where the ceremony will be held this week.
Air medical services provide essential and lifesaving services throughout the country. During missions, highly trained medical teams care for patients with lifesaving interventions, from providing trauma care after an accident to administering clot-busting medications that must be given shortly after a major stroke to significantly improve outcomes. With the continued consolidation of hospitals and the trend towards centers with specialized heart or neurological care, the clinical support and speed of missions arecritical to giving patients the best possible outcomes.
Editors’ note: Members of the media are invited to cover the 40thAnniversary ceremony on Saturday, September 14 from 3 to 6 pm at 2929 California St Suite #1015, Omaha, NE 68131. Media may interview crew about the history of the program. Please contact Ryan Penrose, Senior Account Executive at Air Methods, (402) 3280-3252or by email at *protected email*if you plan to attend.
Media Contacts:Ryan PenroseSenior Account Executive, Air Methods(402) 3280-3252*protected email*
Megan SmithAmendola Communications for Air Methods(404) 408-3379*protected email*