Corewell Health Aero Med

Corewell Health Aero Med is the air ambulance helicopter programme of Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is a hospital programme, run by Spectrum Health Hospitals, which is now part of Corewell Health.

Services

Aero Med answers emergency calls at accident scenes and moves critically ill patients between hospitals. It also handles newborn transport, high risk pregnancy cases and patients on heart support devices such as ECMO. The site lists blood transfusion, chest tube insertion and chest compression devices among the care crews can give.

Aircraft and crew

The site says the programme flies two Sikorsky S 76 helicopters with custom medical cabins. They cruise at 155 mph and have a range of more than 400 miles. The service is staffed around the clock, every day.

Each crew has one pilot and two critical care flight nurses. Flight communication specialists and in house mechanics support them. Pilots are airline transport pilot certified and train in a simulator every six months.

The team has its own maintenance crew. The site says all mechanics are FAA licensed and trained on the Aero Med aircraft and engines. Each pilot can accept, delay or cancel a flight because of weather or safety. There is no cost to the patient or to the responding agency for making or cancelling a request, the site says.

Facts

• Type: hospital programme of Corewell Health
• Operator: Spectrum Health Hospitals, with an FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate
• Base: Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids
• Accreditation: CAMTS, as stated on the programme page
• Requests: any scene responder can ask for a launch, and hospitals call the flight communications centre