With fewer people on the road and others avoiding health care facilities, HAA


programs such as


Cooper University Health Care


experienced an initial lull during the pandemic.


crews so they could safely continue to save lives. “Te political narrative in the beginning of this crisis was


confusing, with conflicting advice, but we’d been preparing for this since January, regardless,” Splitt says. “In the medical field, you can’t overplan for a pandemic, and we were very fortunate to have some warning and time to prepare.” Specific policies and procedures instituted to protect


crews from COVID-19 vary slightly between operators, based mainly on location, access to PPE, and medical facility direction. Te biggest factor driving these differences stems from how each service is organized. In some cases, when an aviation service provides the aircraft, pilot, and mechanic, that service dictates procedures for its employees while the medical facility oversees procedures for the onboard medical staff. In other cases, the medical facility takes the lead in implementing overall health protection procedures. Several preventive best practices were adopted across the


industry almost immediately as a result of considerable collaboration between medical facilities and helicopter operators. Te most common is the requirement for PPE for medical crews and pilots. In most cases, the medical crews wear full isolation gowns, N95 masks, face shields, booties, and gloves, while the pilot often wears an N95 mask and, in some cases, gloves. Some operations require this level of preparedness only


for transports involving known or potential COVID patients; others require it for every transport. Again, directives differ based on location, rate of COVID infection in the community,


28 ROTOR 2020 Q2


and PPE supply. Unfortunately, with a worldwide PPE shortage, some


operations are forced to ration their use of PPE based on whether a patient has tested positive for COVID or has the potential to be positive. Some are forced to wear masks for eight hours rather than dispose of them between patients. N95 masks themselves pose an issue. Te US Occupational


Safety and Health Administration requires every user to be fitted for the masks and signed off by a medical doctor because the mask can restrict airflow. Tis requirement led to delays in many aviation service provider pilots receiving N95 masks, as overwhelmed medical staff prioritized their medical crews, according to Kenny Morrow, COO of Metro Aviation in Shreveport, Louisiana. Other common protective measures that were initiated


with COVID-19 include bagging in plastic everything on board the aircraft, which allows for easier cleaning and disinfecting, whether that entails wiping down the plastic or rebagging items. In some cases, air ambulances are identifying nonessential equipment for flights that can remain off the aircraft, thus reducing the volume of equipment potentially exposed and needing disinfecting. For the same reason, some are also taking less gear into the sending facility during an interfacility transfer. Pilots who often helped the medical crews or accompanied


them into medical facilities pre-COVID now remain with the aircraft and stay more than 6 feet from the crew and patient at all times. Additionally, a barrier now frequently


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