New Helicopter Expands Rural Access to Advanced Care at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022) – Starting Tuesday, Feb. 1, residents of the Tallahassee region will notice a new sight in the skies – a black and red helicopter that will help save lives throughout the region.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) is teaming up with Survival Flight Inc. to bring faster, critical care to patients within 120 miles of the hospital with its own dedicated helicopter medical crew.

The helicopter, a Bell 407, is based at TMH, and the crew is available 24/7 to transport the area’s most critical patients to the Bixler Trauma & Emergency Center at TMH, the region’s only Level II Trauma Center.

The helicopter crew can transport patients from rural healthcare facilities and can be dispatched directly, by working with local Emergency Services, to accident scenes, including those on Interstate 10.

“We’re honored to partner with Survival Flight to bring this important service to patients in North Florida, Southeast Alabama and Southwest Georgia,” said Ryan Smith, Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at TMH. “We know we can save more lives by getting patients to TMH faster. Having a flight crew here allows us to create a seamless process of accepting patients and getting them to TMH as quickly as possible to receive advanced care.”

Survival Flight, based in Batesville, Arkansas, provides rapid medical service to save lives. The TMH base is its 21st location in the Southeast and Midwest. The Bell 407 can carry five people at a time – the pilot and patient, a flight nurse, a paramedic and the patient’s family member or loved one.

Having Survival Flight based at TMH strengthens the network of medical flight services in the region. Prior to Survival Flight coming to TMH, there was no medical helicopter service based in Leon or the immediate surrounding counties.

“It won’t take long for the community to start hearing and seeing testimonies from patients and families saying that the helicopter saved their lives,” said Harold Newton, Regional Director for Survival Flight. “It will make a difference in somebody’s life the very first day it’s in the air.”

The TMH base has about 15 crew members, including pilots, paramedics, flight nurses, a mechanic and a base lead to manage operations. They coordinate directly with specialists, nurses and the Transfer Center at TMH to bring sick or injured patients to the hospital.

Patients experiencing trauma, cardiac emergencies and stroke will especially benefit from the rapid access to specialized care. In addition to being the region’s only Level II Trauma Center, TMH offers the region’s highest level of cardiac care with an Accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation.

TMH is also accredited as North Florida’s only Comprehensive Stroke Center and is the only facility in the Big Bend region performing minimally invasive stroke interventions.

“When you’re having a stroke, every second counts,” said Matthew Lawson, MD, neurosurgeon and Medical Director of the Tallahassee Memorial Stroke Program. “At TMH, we have the highest level of stroke care, but these treatment options are dependent on the time the patient arrives. Having a helicopter on our campus will help us bring patients experiencing a stroke to the treatments they need faster. As a member of this community, not just a physician, I know this will positively impact our ability to care for these critical patients.”

The flight crew will greatly increase access to care for patients in rural areas. TMH anticipates working with partner facilities, such as George E. Weems Memorial Hospital in Apalachicola, Doctors’ Memorial Hospital in Perry, Calhoun-Liberty Hospital in Blountstown and other facilities within a 120-mile radius of the hospital to accept patients via the helicopter.

“In some of our rural counties, they may only have one or two ambulances available at any given time,” said Kyrie Thomas, Executive Director of Emergency Services at TMH. “The helicopter is breaking down a barrier for these rural patients who need rapid access to a higher level of care.”

Healthcare facilities within 120 miles of TMH that would like to initiate a helicopter transfer of a patient to TMH should call the Tallahassee Memorial Transfer Center at 877-864-8762. All dispatches of the helicopter to emergency or accidents scenes are coordinated by local Emergency Services. For more information about emergency care at TMH, please visit TMH.ORG.

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About Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare

Founded in 1948, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) is a private, not-for-profit community healthcare system committed to transforming care, advancing health, and improving lives with an ultimate vision to elevate the standards of healthcare practice, quality and innovation in the region. Serving a 17-county area in North Florida and South Georgia, TMH is comprised of a 772-bed acute care hospital, a surgery and adult ICU center, a psychiatric hospital, multiple specialty care centers, three residency programs, 38 affiliated physician practices and partnerships with Doctors’ Memorial Hospital, Florida State University College of Medicine, UF Health, Weems Memorial Hospital and Wolfson Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit TMH.ORG.