Oct 9, 2008 6:30 pm US/Eastern
Medevac Choppers To Follow New Guidelines
MARYLAND (WJZ) ―
New rules are in effect for crews on board Maryland's state Medevac helicopters.
Weijia Jiang reports this follows last month's crash that killed four of five people on board.
To fly or not to fly is often a tough question for EMS crews to answer.
"We want to make sure that we're balancing the risk associated with flying a patient against the likelihood they have critical injuries," said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, Anne Arundel Fire Department.
People who have clear, traumatic injuries can be flown right away, but Thursday morning new regulations went into effect for others.
For patients who do not have obviously serious injuries, EMS crews must have a consultation with a Shock Trauma doctor before transporting them in a helicopter.
In the past, first responders made that decision on their own.
"What we're talking about are those category of patients who fall in between life-threatening and minor. It truly is an art, not a science," said Tobia.
"What we're going to be doing in this consultation is to give them time to put their thoughts together and share it with a physician at the trauma center and the two of them work together to make this decision," said Dr. Robert Bass.
The new rules come after the deadliest medical helicopter crash happened near Andrews Airforce Base last month.
Four people were killed, another was seriously injured.
Investigators are also looking into the 11 other Medevac units sending them back in flight gradually after extensive testing.
"We want to always maintain the best Medevac and Shock Trauma system in the world. The safety record has been very good. That's not to say there aren't things we can't do to improve the level of safety," said Governor Martin O'Malley.
A panel is also going over the process to decide when and if a Medevac is appropriate. Shock Trauma doctors say that is more often than not.
"How many people are we going to allow to die because we took the best system in the world and watered it down," asked Dr. Thomas Scalea.
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