- New Agreement will bring helicopter service, AirEvac to South Georgia.
- Service can cut average response time in half.
- AirEvac will also have the ability to land on scene for major accidents as well.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Flying by helicopter is sometimes the quickest option for trauma and critically ill patients. A new preferred partner agreement between South Georgia Medical Center and Global Medical Response will make the process of transporting patients to other facilities that much easier.
Emily Brown, Interim EMS Director at South Georgia Medical Center, says while South Georgia Medical Center has worked with GMR in the past, the agreement now gives the health system a direct line to the helicopter service, AirEvac.
"They have bases that are close to use here in Tifton, Douglas, and when we're talking about trauma patients or critical cardiac patients time is of the essence," Brown said. "So as soon as we can get a helicopter here and get patients to a definitive treatment place then the better outcome that patient will have."
According to the 2023 state healthcare system scorecard from the Commonwealth Fund, Georgia is ranked at 45. Brown says there are times where the number of patients can outnumber the amount of ambulances available in the area. AirEvac can help in those situations.
"They're always available, they carry blood products on their helicopters. It's just an additional layer of exceptional care that we can provide to our community now," said Brown.
Greg Dampier, Program Director for AirEvac, says on average it can cut the amount of time it would take to travel on the ground in half, but that's not the only benefit.
"With flying the patient you have an ICU in the air with this aircraft," Dampier explained. "You have a critical care nurse as well as a critical care medic with the patient at all times throughout that transport."
Dampier says the preferred partner agreement helps streamline the process of getting a helicopter for a patient that needs it.
"We do all the legwork. The staff at the hospital they don't have to call A, B, C, or D flight service. They call AirEvac and if we can't do it, we will contract it out to another air provider," said Dampier.
AirEvac isn't just for hospital transports, they also have the ability to land on scene for major accidents as well.
