News & Technology
Enhanced Medical Helicopter Initiative Takes Flight
A long‐time partnership between Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center (GHS) and Med‐Trans Corp. has a new face and address – as well as a 2,700‐pound royal blue heli‐ copter.
GHS has worked with Med‐Trans for 10 years, but now has partnered to locate GHS Med Trans, a dedicated heli‐ copter, at GHS’ flagship Greenville Memorial Hospital. Having the heli‐ copter and crew physically based at Greenville Memorial paves the way for tighter clinical integration, training and teamwork led by GHS board‐certified physicians.
“As a tertiary medical center, it’s our responsibility to provide care for the area’s most critically ill and injured patients,” said GHS President and CEO Michael Riordan. “This enhanced part‐ nership will not only help patients get care faster but will make sure the care received en route is the best it can be.” The service will be particularly critical in the care of heart attack, stroke and trauma patients. GHS has one of the nation’s best treatment times for heart‐ attack patients, and Greenville Memorial Hospital is ranked among the nation’s
10 EMS PRO Magazine
top 50 hospitals in heart care and heart surgeries in U.S. News’ America’s Best Hospitals. The dedicated helicopter will also be a lifesaver for children en route to the regional pediatric intensive care unit at GHS Children’s Hospital. Air trav‐ el cuts transit time by more than two‐ thirds, turning a 40‐minute drive into a 12‐minute flight.
The Bell 407 helicopter’s flight crew includes a pilot, flight paramedic and critical‐care flight nurse. The crew and helicopter can be en route to an emer‐ gency within 3½ minutes of the initial call. The helicopter service area will typ‐ ically be a 100‐mile radius, but it can accept service requests for as far as 200 miles.
“GHS Med Trans will be a tremen‐ dous regional asset, providing indis‐ pensible critical care to patients in need when time is of the essence,” said Med‐ Trans Corp. CEO Fred Buttrell. “GHS Med Trans will focus on excellent patient care, working with GHS to pro‐ vide cohesive clinical integration.” Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Med‐ Trans is a leading provider of air ambu‐ lance programs throughout the U.S. GHS Med Trans will also work closely
with GHS’ 10 Mobile Care ambulances, which carry equipment similar to the helicopter’s critical care equipment. Mobile Care ambulances transport approximately 15,000 patients annually and are rated for advanced life‐support care.
Community hospitals and their patients will be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the new program. “We provide excellent care here, but there are times when patients need the services that only a Level 1 trauma cen‐ ter can provide,” said Oconee Medical Center President and CEO Jeanne Ward. “We’re already exploring more ways we can leverage the unique resources of a tertiary care center to help our own patients.”
A few minutes can make the differ‐ ence between whether a patient sur‐ vives a car accident or can recover from a heart attack or stroke, said Martin Lutz, M.D., the medical director of GHS’ emergency medical services. “In a heart attack, time is muscle,” said Lutz. “And the sooner we can get patients in, the faster we can open the blockage, stop the heart attack, save heart muscle and preserve heart func‐
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