Dartmouth Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART)

The Dartmouth Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART) provides medical transport services for patients across northern New England. Its primary mission is to move patients safely and quickly to appropriate medical facilities by helicopter or ground ambulance. DHART operates 24 hours a day, every day, responding to thousands of transport requests annually.

DHART serves patients in New England, offering air and ground transport to any suitable hospital in the region. It also assists public safety agencies by moving trauma and other medical patients to the closest trauma center within the five states that make up its service area. The program has been active for 30 years and continues to support emergency medical needs across the region.

The aviation operations of DHART are provided by Metro Aviation Inc., a company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Metro Aviation also employs all of DHART’s medical and aviation staff, including pilots, mechanics, nurses, paramedics, respiratory care practitioners, EMTs, and communications specialists. DHART’s fleet consists of helicopters; specific aircraft models or quantities are not listed on the website.

DHART has two air bases located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and Manchester, New Hampshire. This allows them to cover a broad geographical area efficiently. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) and has held this accreditation continuously since 2005. The next CAMTS survey is scheduled for June 2026.

In addition to transport, DHART offers education and training such as landing zone coordination basics and training courses related to medical transport. The team invites community support through donations and provides information for those interested in joining the team. DHART maintains an active presence on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to engage with the public and share patient stories.

Services

• Air medical transport
• Ground medical transport
• Trauma patient evacuation
• Emergency medical response
• Landing zone coordination training
• Medical transport for public safety agencies
• Flight nursing and paramedic care
• Respiratory care during transport
• Communications support for transports
• Community education and training