By; Joslyn Upshaw March 13th, 2023
Medical Air Transport Back Then
Medical Air Transport originated in the late 1700s. Hot air balloons were used to transport injured soldiers during World War One. The first evidence of a plane being used as an ambulance was in France, however; soon after this, it was used in places like Los Angeles. In 1974, the Federal Aviation Administration created the first air ambulance company in the United States.
Medical Air Transport Now
Today, hospitals mostly used helicopters as air ambulances. A helicopter can hold around 3-4 staff members when picking up a patient. These staff members include a flight nurse, flight paramedic, and or a flight physician. The flight physician is the person who makes the medical decisions and has overall power over the team. The main responsibility of these professionals is to keep the patient alive until they get them to the hospital. On the helicopter, they have similar equipment to a regular ground ambulance. Many of the devices are compacted tightly to fit into the aircraft.
Today, MEcial Air Transport can be seen in over 170 countries worldwide. The United States is the #1 medical air transportation center, with over 100 million patients transported.
Limitations:
Weather: if the weather is bad enough, companies will ground all aircraft. Sometimes, the hospitals where the patients are going to be transported do not have the proper instruments flight rules equipment, and lighting for take-off and landing.
Cost: The price of aviation fuel and necessary medical equipment is much more expensive than ground ambulances. Maintaining the aircraft and equipment can be very costly and time-consuming.
Outreach Activity
Josslyn divided us up into 3-4 groups and had us play Mario cart. She gave us IFR goggles, which would restrict our vision. One person had to drive the race car while the rest of the team attempted to guide them through the track. The glasses made it so you could only see the bottom of the screen and your controls, therefore making the groups rely on teamwork and communication.
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