6/10/2009 6:09:00 PM Medical chopper Meridian based
By T.J. JERNIGAN
The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson has stationed a new emergency transport helicopter at Meridian Regional Airport, linking Neshoba County General Hospital closer to the state's only level one trauma center in Jackson.
UMC currently uses two helicopters, AirCare 1 and AirCare 2, to transport patients to and from hospitals all over the state.
The helicopters not only respond to serious car accidents and other emergencies but are also used to transport burn victims to centers outside the state.
The AirCare program averages about four flights a day, and since its inception at UMMC in 1996, over 4,500 patients have been transported by air.
"Up until about a month ago, we only had AirCare 1, and it was going statewide," said Donna Norris, chief flight nurse and program director at UMMC. "By placing AirCare 2 in Meridian, we are ideally closer to the hospitals in east Mississippi that we have worked with for years."
AirCare 2, which is stationed at Key Field in Meridian, mainly covers the east central region of the state including counties like Oktibbeha, Lauderdale, Winston, Newton, and Neshoba.
Dr. Walt Willis, emergency director at Neshoba General, said it takes about an hour and a half to transport a patient from Philadelphia to the University Medical Center in Jackson by ground ambulance. Using air transport that time is cut down to about 20 to 25 minutes.
"With traumatic injuries, time is a very important factor," Dr. Willis said. "For example, getting someone with a bad head injury to the trauma center in 20 minutes rather than in an hour could greatly increase their chances for survival because there is time to stop things like swelling and bleeding of the brain."
Since AirCare 2 has been stationed in Meridian, Neshoba General has used the service for transport about twice a week.
The helicopter, a Bell 230, is fully instrument equipped and rated for safe flight in marginal weather.
It has on-board color weather radar as well as a traffic collision avoidance system.
Powered by two Allison/Rolls Royce C30/G2 engines providing about 740 horsepower each, the choppers have a max speed of 141 knots (162 mph) and a flight range of approximately 400 miles.
AirCare 2 has on-board medical equipment that includes such things as ventilators, IV pumps, ECG and cardiac monitors, liquid oxygen, and a neonatal isolette.
Flight nurses and paramedics that work on the helicopters have completed additional training in critical care transport and air safety to prepare themselves for the "air ambulance environment," Norris said.
Lives have already been saved in the area by utilizing the helicopters.
When a child nearly drowned at a day care and swim gym in Meridian last week, he was airlifted to University Medical Center in Jackson in about 30 minutes. The boy, whose name has not been made available, survived the incident, according to published reports.
Another drowning death was prevented in Carthage when a 16-year-old youth from Morton was airlifted to UMMC after he attempted to rescue a four-year-old who had gotten in water over his head.
"The hospitals in Mississippi have great employees and great resources for the most part," Norris said. "In some cases though, they don't have all the equipment and things they need. By having an air ambulance, we are a step closer to the people that need us.
"We are excited to be closer to the great people at Neshoba General. We have worked with them for years, and this makes it easier for us to help the people in that area when they need us."
