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New air transport launched
Published November 3, 2009
Methodist Healthcare has launched an air emergency transport service that will operate in suport of Val Verde Regional Medical Center.
Methodist AirCare will initially provide medical flight services for pediatric, neonatal and high risk pregnancy patients, said Geoffrey Crabtree, senior vice president for Methodist Healthcare.
The new service, which will be expanded to include other medical emergencies in about a month, will provide a seamless transportation model, said Crabtree, adding that the service to the Del Rio area was planned long before Methodist Healthcare entered negotiations to become the managing agent for Val Verde Regional Medical Center.
The Val Verde Hospital District Board recently entered negotiations with Methodist Healthcare as the new management agent for the hospital under a model that puts overall control of the facility with the citizen-elected board.
A management contract with Community Hospital Corporation, which has managed the facility since 2000, comes to an end in January 2010.
Presently patients in need of a higher level of care than what is available locally are transported to Methodist hospitals in some instances, but usually through a third-party air emergency provider. Crabtree says this new service will streamline that process, resulting in faster treatment for high-risk patients.
“One call can summon a state-of-the-art emergency medical transport helicopter piloted and staffed by a team of highly trained specialists,” said Crabtree.
The Methodist AirCare helicopter is a Eurocopter EC-135, a twin-turbine engine aircraft equipped with a Global Positioning System, Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems and Night Vision Goggles, according to a press release on the new service.
The release also states pilots with AirCare average more than 5,000 hours as a pilot-in-command, are instrument-rated and trained through a program controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The service is a partnership with REACH Air Medical Services (REACH); the helicopter and staff will be housed at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital in San Antonio.
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