Life Flight Fact Sheet About Memorial Hermann Life Flight Memorial

							Life Flight Fact Sheet


About Memorial Hermann Life Flight
Memorial Hermann Life Flight is committed to providing
safe, rapid, quality and cost effective air medical
transport to everyone in need regardless of their ability
to pay. Life Flight helicopters operate as airborne
trauma centers with the same types of equipment and
medicines found in a major trauma center.

Because Memorial Hermann Life Flight is Houston’s
only hospital-based air ambulance program, it offers a continuum of care, from the time the
rescue call comes in to the time the patient goes home. Life Flight is licensed by the Texas
Department of Health as an Air Ambulance and is the only program accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) in the area.

The program has a national imprint as it has been:
    • Instrumental in training NASA astronauts for possible emergencies;
    • One of the first air medical programs in the country to participate in a joint research
        project with the Department of Defense; and
    • Recognized as one of the 10 air medical programs in the U.S. selected for the North
        American Aero Safety Network Pilot Program.


History
Memorial Hermann Life Flight was founded in 1976 and is led by its first and only medical
director, Dr. James “Red” Duke. Memorial Hermann Life Flight was the first air ambulance
program to operate in Texas, the second in the U.S. and has completed more than 110,000
missions since inception.

Facts

    •   With four helicopters flying more than 3,000 missions every year, Life Flight is the busiest
        air medical program in the U.S.

    •   Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center is one of only two Level One trauma centers
        in Houston and is the only one that provides air medical service and is a JACHO
        Accredited Stroke Center.

    •   Life Flight responds to calls within a 150-mile radius from the Texas Medical Center
        including Galveston, Lake Charles, Palestine, Seguin, and Victoria, TX. Counties with
        the largest number of Life Flight missions include (in order) Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend,
                                 Trauma
                                                    Liberty, and Montgomery.

                                                  •   Life Flight responds to an average of 8 calls a
                                 Medical
                                 Emergencies
                                                      day, and one in every four Life Flight missions
                                 (stroke, heart
                                 attack, etc…)
                                                      involves a child.
                                 Newborns

                                                  •   74% of Life Flight calls are trauma patients.
                                 Burn Patients
                                                      13% are medical emergencies (stroke, heart
                                                      attack). 8% are newborns. 3% are burn
                                                      patients and 2% are high-risk OB patients.


The People

    •   The average tenure of a Life Flight trauma team member is 17 years, and there is a long
        waiting list for vacancies. The team consists of highly trained and skilled pilots, registered
        nurses, and paramedics who operate under an advanced scope of practice. They can
        perform surgical interventions typically reserved for physician practice.
   •   Life Flight’s 16 pilots average more than 5,000 hours of helicopter flight experience each.

   •   Life Flight’s Communications Center is staffed by communications specialists who are
       also licensed/certified paramedics.

   •   Life Flight clinical team members participate in on-going training, including skills lab, five
       different specialty ICU rotations, annual safety classes and average 25-hours of aviation
       specific flight training.


The Future of Life Flight

   •   Money raised for the Life Flight campaign will be used to purchase six new Life Flight
       helicopters – four to replace the existing fleet (which averages 17 years old), plus two
       additional helicopters. Of the two new helicopters, one will be dedicated to pediatric and
       obstetric cases and one will service Houston’s East side including the Port of Houston,
       the Ship Channel, and the surrounding communities.

   •   With the new fleet of helicopters, Life Flight anticipates being able to improve response
       time from an average of 44 to 30 minutes, or 33 percent faster.

   •   The new helicopters will be faster and technologically superior. They are quieter, have
       GPS landing systems, and have the latest communication equipment. They can transmit
       video, EKG information, stats, and more to the ER so doctors on the ground know what
       to expect and can prescribe drugs or make a diagnosis before the helicopter lands.

   •   The new helicopters will have cabins that are 25 percent larger with better lighting and
       more seating. They will also be 25 percent more fuel efficient than the current fleet,
       offering an average fuel savings of $37,000 per aircraft per year.

   •   The new helicopters will be designed specifically for medical transport, with dual engines
       for added safety and a double-load capacity from the rear so that two patients can be
       transported at once.

   •   There will be a significant reduction of cost for maintenance within the first year of the
       acquisition of new aircraft.

   •   The new helicopters will continue to be used for training and community
       outreach/education. More than 1,120 hours of community education are offered annually
       to various groups and include car seat safety courses, bike safety and pool safety for
       elementary school children, and programs in area high schools to educate teens on the
       consequences of drinking and driving.