Just
A Phone Call Away
 |
| The
Autolaunch program establishes protocols for 911 dispatchers to
send the helicopter to the scene of certain severe traumas, including
major motor vehicle accidents, amputations and severe head injuries. |
It
might be a frantic phone call from a mother whose child found a loaded
handgun. It might be a summons from a motorist who witnessed a massive
car accident. With Air Life's Autolaunch program, those heartbreaking
calls from community members can be enough to set the helicopter in
motion.
In
most emergency situations, 911 operators dispatch the closest ground
ambulance crew to the scene. However, Air Life's Autolaunch program
gives dispatchers the option of sending Air Life's helicopter crew
simultaneously in cases where air transport is most likely to make
a difference.
"With
many types of trauma, the ground crew will respond first and then
call us to the scene if they think the patient should be flown," explained
flight nurse Grant Boswell, RN, CRFN, Air Life's Autolaunch coordinator.
"Though that's still the best option in many cases, there are some
situations where we know at the outset that the patient will benefit
from Air Life arriving on scene sooner."
Some
instances where Autolaunch would be appropriate include:
- Major motor vehicle accidents, particularly those involving head-on
collisions, passenger ejections, semi-trucks or any street
- Any trauma involving prolonged extrication in a remote geographic
area
- Severe head injury
- Amputation of arm or leg
- Penetrating trauma (i.e. stabbing, shooting or impaled objects)
between the groin and head
- Major burns covering 25 percent of the body
- Near drowning
- Mass casualty incidents
- Industrial or logging accidents
Currently, the Autolaunch program is limited to agencies in Bend, Redmond,
La Pine, Sunriver, Sisters, Black Butte, Prineville, Madras and Warm
Springs. Though Autolaunch has existed since 2001, Air Life has recently
been working to increase awareness about the program and offer additional
training to dispatchers who might be called upon to make a decision
to launch the helicopter.
So
far, the program has been well received by ground ambulance providers
and dispatchers alike. Air Life is the first program in Oregon to
implement such a program and one of only a handful of elite air ambulance
services around the nation to do so. According to Air Life Medical
Director Helenka Marcinek, MD, it all comes down to offering what's
best for the patient.
"The
statistics we've gathered so far indicate that it's very valuable
to reduce the amount of time in the field for severely injured patients,"
Marcinek explained. "The sooner you can get a trauma patient to a
facility where they can get definitive care, the better the outcome
is likely to be."
Return
to Spring 2004 Air Currents Directory
