New air ambulance is just for kids

Thursday, December 22, 2005
Afton Bugg/Daily Mail A Children's Mercy air ambulance makes its inaugural visit to Nevada Regional Medical Center on Tuesday. The new aircraft, outfitted specifically for tranporting pediatric patients, serves a wide region which includes Nevada.

By Afton Bugg

Nevada Daily Mail

Life Flight-Eagle, in conjunction with Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, has constructed a new helicopter used only for transporting critical care children and babies to Children's Mercy. This is the only air ambulance specifically designed for child-oriented air ambulance transports providing services to Missouri and Kansas.

The Children's Mercy Critical Care Transport Team now has its own brightly-colored, child-friendly helicopter, which will be permanently housed on the helipad at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for a more timely transport. The helicopter made its way to Nevada Tuesday morning at the Nevada Regional Medical Center helipad, to let hospital staff see the helicopter's features. This helicopter is specially designed for children and infants, with tools and stretchers specifically for them. The staff in the air transports are also specially trained to help children and infants.

Previously, Children's Mercy Transport shared the use of one of Life Flight-Eagle's three aircraft. To accommodate growth in both programs, the fleet has been expanded to add a fourth aircraft. In the past, if all of the helicopters were being used, Children's Mercy would have to transport children by ground ambulance making it a longer transport.

Geoff Allen, medical director for the Critical Care transport team at Children's Mercy said, "We are excited that they are allowing us to do this. We can now give to others, such as Nevada, and provide care for children in a timelier manner."

The planning and construction of this new helicopter took almost a year. The design on the outside of the helicopter is a drawing of happy children. This is to make the helicopter more kid-friendly.

The design was crafted by Telisa Hassen, in the Community Relations Department at Children's Mercy. She has a background in graphic design and was excited to do this project, as she had never designed for a helicopter before.

The average number of flights to Children's Mercy is more than 300, and Nevada will use this new air transport when they need to fly a child or infant to Children's Mercy and time is of the essence.

The operation of the new helicopter will continue to be a joint mission with Life Flight Eagle, and will now be used exclusively by Children's Mercy Critical Care Transport team members to transport sick babies and children from hospitals all over Missouri and Kansas, including Nevada.

Life Flight Eagle had three helicopters to serve all of the Kansas City area hospitals within a 150-mile radius. This new addition will help facilitate air transports for children and adults.

There will now be three helicopters used specifically for adults, and the new aircraft will be used only for children.

The helicopter will be the only hospital-based, neonatal and pediatric helicopter in Missouri or Kansas. The BK1 17 helicopter will bring the specialty services of the Children's Mercy Transport team to requesting hospitals throughout the region.

Joy Jeffries, Out Patient Services Nurse Manager said, "This new helicopter will cut out the middle man and we will be able to have a crew specialized in pediatrics."

The new helicopter was put into service on Sunday, Dec. 18, and is now available for transports.

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