New pediatric helicopter to serve 120-mile radius - #lakewoodnews

Flight For Life Colorado and Children's Hospital Colorado have announced a new addition to their emergency services -- a helicopter uniquely designed to transport pediatric patients and newborns within a 120-mile service area of metro Denver.The helicopter, expected to take flight in 2017, will be based in metro Denver and staffed by nurses and respiratory therapists from flight crews at Children's Hospital Colorado."For several years our newborn team has been traveling substantial distance by ground to respond to critically ill infants," said Kathleen Mayer, director of Flight For Life Colorado.Flight For Life Colorado is the critical care transport service of Centura Health, a network including 17 hospitals, two senior living communities and more than 100 other physician practices in the region. Children's Hospital Colorado was founded in 1908. Its 16 locations in Colorado --including Highlands Ranch -- provide a network of pediatric care.The new aircraft will allow Children's pediatric teams to respond more quickly and efficiently, Mayer said."The metro-area traffic is getting to be more and more of a factor for us," she said.The helicopter, an Airbus H130 T2 leased by Air Methods Corp., also provides some independence. The pediatric crew was previously sharing a helicopter with teams focused on treating older patients, Mayer said.However, the needs of pediatrics crews are more than what it could offer.The other aircraft performs well at high altitudes, Mayer said, particularly during rescues. And it has good horsepower. What it lacks is the space required for equipment used in pediatric and infant care.Joe Darmofal, director of the flight team, outreach and education at Children's Colorado, said the pediatric helicopter will have approximately double the interior space and will carry an incubator weighing more than 300 pounds, plus other equipment used in newborn transport.Pediatric teams would typically serve about 1,000 patients a year, he said. That number is expected to grow with the new helicopter's help. Children's has brought on a second pediatric team, he said, so two crews will be available 24/7."We're doing quite a bit of training between now and when the helicopter rolls out," he said.The training of crews, which typically consist of three to four people, will include night-vision goggle training, safety training, survival training and training of how medical crews interact with pilots during calls.Also new to the force are two additional ambulances. Flight For Life Colorado expects to transport approximately 4,000 pediatric patients by ground transport annually among the Children's Colorado Network of Care facilities throughout the Denver metro area.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/New-pediatric-helicopter-to-serve-120-mile-radius,239037