OETA Story on Tulsa Life Flight Helicopter Air Ambulance Service Expanded aired on 06/05/09

This is a story that aired on OETA Public Television's The Oklahoma News Report in Tulsa Oklahoma as reported by Cathy Tatom and photojournalist Edwin Wilson. For more information or to contact us, please go to www.oeta.tv

The verbatim script follows below...


RURAL OKLAHOMA HAS BEEN PLAGUED FOR YEARS WITH CUTBACKS IN GROUND AMBULANCE SERVICES.

AT TIMES THAT'S HAS MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR PATIENTS TO GET TO A HOSPITAL QUICKLY.

NOW A CHANGE IN OPERATORS IS MAKING TULSA LIFE FLIGHT AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE EASIER AND QUICKER TO ACCESS FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES ACROSS NORTHEAST OKALHOMA.

WE GET THE DETAILS FROM OETA'S CATHY TATOM.

AIR METHODS CORPORATION HAS A NEW FLIGHT PLAN FOR ITS TULSA LIFE FLIGHT AIR AMBULANCES.

IT'S OPENING BASES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING TULSA TO PROVIDE PATIENTS WITH BETTER ACCESS TO AIR AMBULANCES SERVICE.

SUSAN COOK IS WITH LIFE FLIGHT.

Susan Cook/Tulsa Life Flight: " What we intend to do is establish three bases around the Tulsa area approximately 50 miles out in all directions with our three aircraft that way we are closer to the communities where the patients are and allow a faster response time to them as well as initiate care quicker."

ONE BASE IS HERE AT THE AIRPORT AT THE MID AMERICA INDUSTRIAL PARK IN PRYOR.

"Moving a crew out into rural areas doesn't take a lot of equipment or space. Just a trailer for the crew to hang out in when they're not flying...

"And a big H painted on the tarmac so you know where to land the helicopter."

AFTER 30-YEARS OF PROVIDING HELICOPTERS, PILOTS, AND MECHANICS SO ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL COULD RUN LIFE FLIGHT, AIR METHODS HAS TAKEN OVER OPERATION TULSA LIFE FLIGHT.

Susan Cook/Tulsa Life Flight: "St. Francis Hospital looked at their options on running the air ambulance service and felt like perhaps Air Methods Corporation was better equipped to do that."

NOW ALL THE STAFF FROM THE PARAMEDICS AND NURSES TO THE PILOTS AND MECHANICS WILL WORK FOR AIR METHODS.

BUT, ONE THING WON'T CHANGE.

ST. FRANCIS WILL STILL BE THE HOME BASE OF TULSA LIFE FLIGHT.

EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL WILL BE OUT IN THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.

Susan Cook/Tulsa Life Flight: "We're all going to be working for Air Methods and be closely tied to St. Francis Hospital and also St. John Medical Center. We will still continue to have the same medical director who is a physician at St. Francis and is also an Assoc. Prof. At OU Medical School, so we'll continue to have the same standard of care, we'll continue to run with the same protocols, same policies."

FOR A DECADE THERE HAS BEEN A NATIONAL TREND TO MOVE AIR AMBULANCE BASES AWAY FROM URBAN HOSPITALS AND INTO MORE RURAL SETTINGS.

IT NOT ONLY PROVIDES QUICKER ACCESS FOR PATIENTS, IT'S CAN ALSO BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE.

Susan Cook/Tulsa Life Flight: "It's probably more cost effective in that we will be closer to the patient so we won't have that flight out to the patient and then back to the hospital."

COOK SAYS RURAL AIRPORTS LIKE HAVING AIR AMBULANCE BASES SO THEY'LL OFTEN CUT THEM A DEAL ON THE PRICE OF THE JET FUEL NEEDED TO KEEP THE HELICOPTERS TOPPED OFF AND READY TO RESPOND AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE.

IN PRYOR, I'M CATHY TATOM, THE OKLAHOMA NEWS REPORT.

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