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Sacred Heart
AIRHeart-1
Air Ambulance Service
Walton County, Fla. |
Sacred Heart Health System based in
Pensacola, Fla., has launched its new air ambulance service -
AIRHeart-1 - helicopter based in fast-growing Walton County,
Fla.
The medical helicopter service will be able to respond to
medical emergencies within a 75-mile radius of its base in South
Walton County. Its primary service area will include Walton,
Okaloosa, Bay, Holmes, and Washington counties and parts of
South Alabama. Depending on the patient's location, the
patient's preferences and the medical situation, the helicopter
team may transport the patient to the nearest appropriate
facility in the region.
When Sacred Heart completes construction of its new hospital in
Walton County next year, patients also may be transported to
that hospital's emergency center.
"Sacred Heart Health System has made a major commitment to
improving access to health care for the residents of the Emerald
Coast and surrounding areas," said Patrick J. Madden,
president and CEO of Sacred Heart. "Our air ambulance will
be a vital regional service to provide fast access to emergency
health care when people need it most."
The helicopter will be based initially at a hangar and landing
pad maintained by the Walton County Sheriff's Department on
Highway 331. Next year, the helicopter will move to a permanent
new hangar and helipad facilities provided by the South Walton
Fire District off Mack Bayou Road.
Sacred Heart contracted with Metro Aviation, one of the nation's
leading air ambulance services, to provide the helicopter,
maintenance, and pilots. The lead pilot is Wayne Weir, a former
Army flight instructor who has spent the last six years as the
lead pilot for an air ambulance service in Melbourne, Fla.
Sacred Heart will provide flight nurses and overall
administrative and clinical management of the program, and it
will contract with South Walton Fire District to provide a
paramedic on each flight.
"The AIRHeart-1 helicopter service will be a valuable asset
to this county and the Emerald Coast area," said Les
Hallman, chief of the South Walton Fire District. "It is a
life-saving service and we are thrilled to partner with Sacred
Heart to expand our emergency medical capabilities."
Dispatch operations for AIRHeart-1 will be handled through the
Walton County Emergency Operations Center.
Sacred Heart has offered air transport service via fixed wing
aircraft for more than 25 years to sick or premature newborns in
need of transport to its Children's Hospital. The new helicopter
service in Walton County will complement the pediatric transport
service.
For more information on the new air ambulance service, visit its
new web site at www.airheart.org
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