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The Critical Care Transport Specialist
It's a trend
that's hard to ignore. Emergency departments, hospital critical
care units, physicians and nurses are depending on critical care
air transport more every day. In most cases, those responsible for
making the arrangements are burdened with many other pressing matters.
Since there are so many variables for this type of transportation,
the average individual may not be able to make the best choices
because of lack of information. Who's operating the aircraft? Have
the regulatory requirements been satisfied? Will safety and rapid
response be ensured? Will the service be competitively priced with
other air transport operations? If you're facing these questions,
you should know about LifeFlight®.
LifeFlight®
provides expert care for your sick, injured and disabled neonate,
and child, throughout South Florida and the Caribbean, quickly and
efficiently, with a highly skilled staff and advanced equipment
in a medically configured helicopter.
Our advanced
transport system is available upon request from any physician, hospital,
nurse or other trained persons responsible for obtaining critical
care transport and who has determined that a patient can benefit
from tertiary care, or who would like consultation on the advisability
of transport.
LifeFlight®
can be a vital extension of your medical service capabilities.
Use
of LifeFlight®
provides you with the following benefits:
- Reduces liability
by decreasing your patient's out-of-hospital time
- Provides
higher levels of critical care en route
- Saves costs
over ground transport in many cases
Miami Children's LifeFlight®
helicopter:
Miami Children's
LifeFlight® helicopter is a 1997 Sikorsky
S76 C+ which has been fitted to carry two patients and four medical
crew with pediatric/neonatal critical care capability, including
provision of nitric oxide and cardiopulmonary support.
The helicopter
is capable of flying up to 300 miles without stopping to refuel
and features the latest, most up-to-date flight instrumentation.
It the most sophisticated air ambulance available, with an unsurpassed
flight stability and safety record. The medical cabin allows easy
installation and removal of a transport stretcher or isolette so
that patients are not tilted during loading or unloading. Once the
patients are aboard, the medical flight crew can work from swivel
seats with full and unobstructed access to the patients from any
angle, a benefit that is not available from any other aircraft.
LifeFlight®'s
cabin size offers a family member the ability to accompany their
loved one to the receiving hospital.
As a mobile
critical care unit, the medical configuration of the aircraft includes
built-in oxygen and air, lighting controls, intravenous fluid holders
and flight-team-to-hospital communications. LifeFlight®
carries the most advanced life-support equipment, compactly arranged
to ensure the maximum utilization of space. This specialized portable
equipment includes state-of-the-art FAA-approved life support systems
such as neonatal, and pediatric ventilators, a defibrillator with
external pacemaker, intubation equipment, cardiorespiratory and
hemodynamic monitors, infusion devices, transcutaneous P02 monitors,
emergency medications, transport isolettes and any other equipment
necessary for air management, IV therapy and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Holiday
Gift from Miami Children's Hospital Employees to Children in Need
- New State-of-the-art Incubator.
Thanks to the
generosity of its employees and a matching gift from the hospital
administration, Miami Children’s Hospital recently acquired
the state’s first lightweight transport incubator capable of
high frequency ventilation. The incubator will be used by the hospital’s
LifeFlight™ Critical Care Transport Program to bring critically
ill newborns to the hospital for life-saving care.
The state-of-the-art incubator was paid for in part through donations
made by hospital employees during a 2005 fundraising campaign conducted
by Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation, which raises money
to support hospital programs and services.
All neonatal
patients require an incubator for transport because of their inability
to maintain body temperature. The new incubator is the first in
the region to include all of the following advanced features:
• Advanced
insulation properties that enable it to better maintain patient
temperatures
• High frequency ventilation (required by some critically ill
neonates)
• Conventional ventilation
• Nitric oxide delivery
• Advanced monitoring of patient vital signs
In addition,
the incubator is nearly 100 pounds lighter than standard incubators.
This makes loading and unloading of the incubator from the ambulance
or aircraft easier and safer for the care team. The reduced weight
also enhances flight safety.
“We are
grateful to the employees of Miami Children’s for making this
state-of-the-art system available so that we may offer the best
possible care to the region’s most critically ill neonates,”
said Dr. Andre Raszynski, Medical Director of Pediatric Critical
Care Medicine and LifeFlight at Miami Children’s.
Arranging
Patient Transport.
LifeFlight®
has a dedicated 24-hour-a-day Communications Center staffed by highly
skilled communications specialists. Your one phone call will coordinate
all necessary arrangements. Your call to 1-888-LIFEFLT is answered
promptly, with the LifeFlight®
medical team airborne within minutes of notification to reach you
and your patient. Accurate flight tracking and up-to-the-minute
weather bulletins are obtained through constant weather briefings,
flight service and weather mapping equipment.
When
arranging for a patient's transport, our communications specialist
will ask you for the following information:
- Patient name
- Age
- Sex
- Weight
- Type and
extent of illness or injury
- Vital signs
- Treatment
received
- Ground contact
phone number
LifeFlight®
is very cost-competitive.
Although air travel is more expensive than ground transportation,
the difference is offset by the reduction in the transport time.
Cost varies depending on the distance traveled; however, LifeFlight®'s
state-of-the-art Sikorsky helicopter delivers a low operating cost
per mile. Costs include a base lift-off fee and fee for each patient-loaded
mile.
As the referring
hospital, you are not responsible for payment of fees. LifeFlight®
accepts all responsibility for collecting fees for patients transported.
Transport charges are billed to the patient or insurance provider
by LifeFlight®.
Most insurance companies now recognize air transport as a legitimate
cost of patient care.
When
every second counts and a patient must be transferred
to receive immediate care, LifeFlight®
responds with fast, safe and cost-effective air transportation using
the latest in state-of-the-art technology. We're available 24 hours
a day to serve patients requiring medical services that aren't available
in their hospital or community.
When you need
the highest level of critical care in the air, LifeFlight®
is there. Just call 1-888-LIFE-FLT toll-free.
As a free service
of LifeFlight®,
we will assist you in establishing an approved landing zone so that
you will be able to utilize LifeFlight®'s
aeromedical services for your patients. Please contact the Program
to arrange for a helicopter safety orientation.
LifeFlight®
is the registered trademark of Hermann Hospital Foundation, Houston,
Texas.
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