Date: 30 Apr 2004
Time: 22:13
Carilion Patient Transportation Services (CPTS) and CA Air Ambulance have joined resources to provide a fixed-wing patient transport service for transportation in and out of southwest Virginia (USA). A fixed-wing air ambulance (a jet plane outfitted with advanced medical equipment) is necessary when a ground ambulance is not appropriate.
Patients may require fixed-wing transportation because the destination is too far to travel by ground, inaccessible to ground vehicles or blocked by heavy traffic. Currently, CPTS receives several requests for fixed-wing transport each month. This includes patients who were admitted to the hospital while visiting western Virginia and need to return home and area residents who were injured or became ill while travelling and want to return home to western Virginia for treatment.
Currently, CPTS must outsource these requests to companies in other states. The creation of a local fixed-wing service will ensure that Carilion patients have reliable access to this important service. The service will be available to any patient at any hospital in Virginia.
"The addition of fixed-wing service enhances the ground transportation and emergency helicopter service we’ve provided for years," said Paul Davenport, Director of Carilion Patient Transportation Services.
CA Air Ambulance(www.charliealpha.com) and its parent company, Cambata Aviation, have extensive experience in the aviation industry. CA Air Ambulance will provide and operate the aircraft, which will be based at the Shenandoah Valley Regional airport and operate from the Roanoke Regional airport. CPTS will manage and coordinate the medical flight service.
An application to provide service is currently being processed by the FAA, with service projected to begin in the summer of 2004. The primary response area for the fixed wing operation will be the continental United States.