which comprehends all types of EMS services, this collection of approximately 40 air medical professionals has worked to review and identify the root causes of over 140 medical helicopter accidents occurring from 1998 through 2010. The group has conducted a meticulous review of the NTSB accident investiga- tion dockets of the accidents to extract the apparent causes. After identifying the causes for each accident, the group pooled their various perspectives to determine an index of the degree of causality for each cause. The team then discussed possible mitigation strategies to prevent similar accidents in the future and documented the mitigations that they felt would prove most effective. The final report of this 5-year project is expected in 2013.


NEMSPA CHAMPS As described above,


the National


EMS Culture of Safety Strategy is a very broad and high-level approach to system safety for all providers of emergency medical services. The OSI-HEMS proj- ect is a more targeted effort to address the challenges specific to air medical transport operations. At the sharp end of this continuum,


the Cultural Health Assessment and Mitigation


Program for Safety


(CHAMPS) is a survey-based project of the National EMS Pilots Association (NEMSPA) that is designed to identify


specific attitudes and practices in the organizational cultures of air medical providers that could influence aircrew members to push the limits of safety in order to complete a patient transport flight. At this time, NEMSPA is per- forming final review and validation of the survey in anticipation of offering it to air medical provider programs later this year. NEMSPA has been especially active


in recent years in escalating its campaign to enhance the safety of air medical operations across the U.S. Their activi- ties have been, and continue to be an influence as industry stake-holders and federal regulators consider issues such as new regulations for the air ambulance industry, the use of night vision goggles and traffic and terrain avoidance and warning systems, and the design and safety of the nationwide system of hospi- tal heliports. NEMSPA also provides a representative to both the National EMS Culture of Safety Strategy and the OSI- HEMS projects. Whereas the other projects men-


tioned above are supported by grants and donations, NEMSPA’s efforts are supported by the Association’s member- ships and sponsors. Active


Pilot


Membership is open to any EMS pilot. Affiliate Membership is open to anyone associated with or with an interest in the air medical transport industry. Information about NEMSPA and an online membership application are


accessible on the Association’s website at www.nemspa.com.


CONCLUSION Like many of the national-level chal-


lenges confronting the United States today, fine tuning the effectiveness, effi- ciency, and safety of


the air medical


transport industry is a complex under- taking due to the diversity of the roles and perspectives of the key stakeholders involved. But this same diversity is also the key to success if representatives from the groups above, and perhaps others, can gather in a spirit of creative cooper- ation to learn from each other and to create the kind of solutions that can result from genuine synergy. I know that there are capable people


in each of the organizations listed above who are personally motivated to work for improvements in air medical trans- port. It will be interesting to see who will lead out in a timely manner in organiz- ing the working group I have suggested here. ◆


About the Author


Bill Winn is the Safety Officer for Intermountain Life Flight in Salt Lake City, Utah and the General Manager of the National EMS Pilots Association. He flew as a helicopter pilot and instructor pilot in the US Army for 27 years and as an air medical pilot for 9 years before becoming a desk-bound safety officer. He can be contacted at William.Winn@imail.org.


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