AdventHealth's air transport helicopter expected to revolutionize emergency care

TAMPA, Fla. - AdventHealth unveiled its first ever air transport helicopter for the hospital system's West Florida Division on Monday, in a move it expects will revolutionize emergency care for the region.

The goal of the helicopter, known as AirStar 1, is "to enhance the efficiency and safety of hospital-to-hospital transfers, [and] minimizing delays in critical care transports," according to a news release.

"Having access to AirStar One is going to be a game changer for us," said Michael Longley, AdventHealth's Chief Medical Officer. "It is a really stressful thing when you have a really sick patient that needs to go now. If you're waiting on transportation and just being able to connect our hospitals across the division from Ocala all the way down to Sebring and reduce those transport times from several hours down to about 30 minutes, that's just going to boost everybody's confidence."

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The unveiling of AirStar 1 comes as the Tampa Bay area's rural community continues to grow, expanding the need for access to critical medical care. According to Rural Health Information Hub, there are about 700,000 Floridians living in, what the Florida Health Department considers, rural communities.

Flight paramedics told FOX 13 it can take hours for ground transportation to help a patient in need of urgent treatment for conditions, including trauma, stroke and cardiac arrest.

"The need is there because ground units are taxed at the very limits right now. Sometimes you look at probably two to three hours of waiting for an ambulance to transfer a patient," said Mark Adams, a flight paramedic. "This can save lives. If you have someone that has an aortic rupture, they have only moments to get to a facility, you can't take them back around. You need to get them by air."

The helicopter, which is twin-engine Airbus H135 P3H, will be stationed at Lakeland Linder International Airport, which is positioned to serve AdventHealth's West and Central Florida Divisions.

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