Helicopter Emergency Medical Service

whirlybird Emergency medical Service line of descent checkup sustain has only been used for the past 70 years. The origin true air ambulance rush was during the Great state of war. A Serbian incumbent was lifted from the battlefield to the hospital by plane. Air ambulance was being tested by different military organizations during the First World War. Schaefer Air services was the first of all United utters air ambulance service, created in 1947. The Korean War was the big bit point for EMS eggwhisks. In 1950, the military was given authorization to use chops for aesculapian purposes.These eggwhisks were used to evacuate injured diligents from the battlefield during combat. The small helicopters were equipped with wicket stretchers that were attached to the reaching gear. The patients were seizureed outside of the aircraft, which did not allow for medical during transport. From January 1951 to January 1953 more(prenominal) than 17,000 patients were removed from t he battlefield and transported to the hospital by helicopter. The use of medical helicopter transport significantly decreased the causality/death rate among the citizenry in combat.World War II death/causality rate was 4. 5 deaths per 100 casualties, whereas, the Korean War death/casualty rate was 2. 5 deaths per 100 casualties. The Vietnam War introduced to idea of patients receiving medical cargon during air transport. The gong UH-1 also recognisen as the Huey was the frost helicopter that was large copious to carry the patient and medical staff inside the aircraft. The state of free state started the nations first combined jot service helicopter program, in 1969. This program was put into place by the Maryland State Police and the University of Maryland.The program joined together the state police, rescue and HEMS (helicopter emergency medical service). In 1972, St. Anthony Central Hospital in capital of Colorado conscientious objector was the first hospital to nonplus civ ilian hospital-based helicopter transport. This hospital-based helicopter transport system is still in use today and is now intergrated with Denver EMS. The attributes of helicopter transport ar speed, accessibility, specialized personnel and applied science. Modern medical helicopters are capable of sustain speeds in excess of 150mph. This allows for patients to be transported to a specialized care center much faster than estate transport.Using a helicopter allows for emergency medical personnel to access patients in places ground conclaves cannot go. A helicopter can take off and land in a vertical motion. Emergency medical helicopters are staffed with lavishlyly happy and skilled staff. EMS helicopters are equipped with highly sophisticated medical technology and can reach people across a wide geographical area. When considering the use of the EMS helicopter you should take all these attributes into consideration. If these attributes are not important, whence the use of a n expensive EMS helicopter should not be used.Air medical transport can pose its own stressors to patients, medical staff and medical equipment. These stressors are more predominant in fixed-wing operations rather than helicopter transport. Hypoxemia is the biggest scourge to people who fly. However helicopters no dot exceed 1000 feet preceding(prenominal) sea level. Patients being transported by helicopter are at no significant find of hypoxemia secondary to decreased ambient pressure. Acceleration of the aircraft is other factor that can stress the patient. Helicopter acceleration force is not that much different than that of ground transport.Acceleration is more significant in fixed-wing aircraft. disruption is a major issue when it comes to helicopter transport. The noise inside the helicopter causes problems for the medical staff. The noise may hinder the medical staff from perceive lung sounds. The staff must use headphones and an intercom system to communicate. shakin ess of the aircraft is other problem for the patient and staff. The vibrations can cause fatigue and discomfort to the patient. Vibration can also cause monitoring errors and equipment malfunction. Air medical transport has a few cons but when life is on the line these issues count minor.Each helicopter has its own transport team. The transport team may lie down of a pilot, registered nurse or paramedic, and can include EMTs and EMT-Is. any(prenominal) feather clumps include a physician. Physicians on fight crews have be a lot of controversy as to whether a physician as a crew extremity improves the outcome of the patient. Each crew member must undergo many education courses as well as hands on training before being employed by HEMS. Safety is the most important aspect to HEMS. Emergency medical helicopters have an alarming history of crashes.The National Transportation Safety Board conducted a causeplace to discouragemine the major causes of helicopter crashes. Important areas of flight risk are the pilots, the mechanics of the aircraft, crew training, maintenance, hold out conditions, time of day, and landing targets. The write up showed that poor weather conditions posed the greatest risk for helicopter crashes. Since, the study many improvements have been made to improve the crash rate. It has been said that the fillet of sole decision is set on the pilot as to whether it is safe bounteous to take the flight or not.The pilot must consider the weather conditions, aircraft maintainence, and crew readiness. Medical personnel cannot make the decision to take the call. Medical personnel should not tell the pilot the nature of the call, because this may deter the pilots judgment. Currently the Federal Aviation Administration is flavour to make changes in the safety procedures of HEMS. Air medical transport is generally used in for two reasons, rescue and inter-hospital transfer. Helicopter transport is very expensive and is potentially dangerous .Rescue helicopters are dispatched by emergency personnel at the scene. The helicopter reports to the scene of the accident or illness. When should a EMS helicopter be dispatched? EMS helicopter should only be called out when speed, accessibility, specialized equipment and personnel are all needed to save life or limb. Inter-hospital air medical transport is generally used to transfer critically ill patients to some other hospital that suites the needs of the patient. There are two types of landing sites for EMS helicopters. oneness type is the controlled site. The controlled site located at hospitals.These landing sites are constructed to safely accomindate the aircraft. The second type of landing site is the rampant landing site. The uncontrolled landing site is landing at the scene of an accident. The landing site is selected by the ground EMS. The pilot looks at the site and determines if it is safe to land or not. primer EMS are trained on how to chose, and mark a landing si te. Ground EMS personnel are also trained on how to behave around the aircraft. When a patient is going to be transported by air the ground EMS must prepare the patient for transport.The EMS ground crew should have the patient stabilized as much as possible before transport. Another way ground EMS can prepare the patient is to intubate a patient that has a high potential for damage of airway. Good communication is the biggest factor in a successful transport. Ground EMS typically has radio communication with the helicopter. The communication between the two should be maintained until after the helicopter takes off. Maintaining good communication allows the flight crew to inform ground EMS of any major, unexpected patient complications or malfunctions of the aircraft.EMS helicopters must have well trained, diverse flight crews. These crew members must be able to perform their duties on the scene of an accident and while in flight. The crew members are trained to handle many differe nt types of patients such(prenominal) as drowning, burns, spinal cord injuries, heart attacks, pediatric and neonatal patients. The flight nurse is responsible for the patient assessment, and interventions before loading the patient on the aircraft. The flight nurse must know how to use all the equipment and know all the safety guidelines pertaining to the aircraft.There are many different requirements to becoming a flight paramedic. A person who wants to become a flight paramedic must be able to work in chaotic situations. suitable a flight paramedic involves a lot of hard work and dedication. The person who wants to become a paramedic must have at least one year EMT experience and many different certifications such as CPR, Basic keep Support (BLS), Basic paediatric Life Support (BPLS), Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS), Neo original Life Support (NALS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).In order to become a flight paramedic this pe rson would have to have at least 5 years critical care experience in a high volume progressive EMS system. Becoming a flight paramedic is no easy task.References Formm, Jr. Robert E. Air medical transport. Journal of Family Practice. adjoin 1993. http//www. findarticals. com/p/articles. html . 1 Oct. 2010. Kreisher, Otto. The Rise of the Helicopter During the Korean War. Aviation History Magazine. History. net Jan 2007. http//www. historynet. com/the-rise-of-the -helicopter-during-the-korean-war. htm. 1 Oct. 010 Federal Aviation Administration. Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Safety. 8 June 2010. http//www. faa. gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story. cfm? newsID+6763. 1 Oct. 2010. Lenworth M. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS, and Bennet, Barbra, RN, MPH. The slender Care Helicopter System in Trauma. Hartford Conneticut.. http//www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC/articles. 1 Oct. 2010 Gentile. Rosanne. How to require a Flight Paramedic Required Qualifications and Education. Associated Content. 18 August 2008. http//associatedcontent. com. 1 Oct. 2010