Children’s Mercy Hospital unveils new helicopter

Children’s Mercy Hospital uses helicopters that are more than just a means of transportation.

The Life Flight helicopters are literally a mobile intensive care unit, said Sherry McCool, Children’s Mercy’s director of transport operations.

Last week, Children’s Mercy added the EC145 helicopter to its fleet. McCool said the state-of-the-art chopper provides enhanced safety features and optimum space.

“It’s a little more roomy on the inside,” McCool said. “Our medical crew is very excited.”

Children’s Mercy Critical Care Transport team transports more than 4,000 patients each year. The EC145, the latest addition to its fleet, is the vehicle selected by the U.S. Army for light utility transport.

The helicopter’s safety features include digital autopilot and moving map GPS.

“A lot of those safety features are very important,” McCool said.

The EC145 will replace the helicopter Children’s Mercy previously used. The hospital’s transport fleet also includes eight ambulances and a custom-equipped fixed wing aircraft for longer transports.

Children’s Mercy’s transport team will start using the new helicopter Sept. 21. The hospital leases the helicopter through Life Flight Eagle.

“We actually started looking at new aircrafts almost five years ago,” McCool said. “We were looking for an aircraft that would take us into the future.”

Andy Loehr, RN, MSN, CPNP, director of transport clinical services, said he looks forward to the new craft.

“It’s the first one really in the region of this type of helicopter,” Loehr said.

The helicopter will transport patients from up to 170 miles away.

“The helicopter is the fastest mode to get the critically ill infants and neonates who are within 170 miles of the hospitals,” Loehr said. “It really is like a mobile intensive care unit.”

Treatment during the helicopter flight can be a matter of life and death for some patients.

Loehr described the EC145’s extra space as a medical benefit.

“It allows for complete access of the medical crew to get to the patient,” he said. “There is room for advanced medical equipment to be taken if necessary.”

Some Life Flight helicopter rides can take up to 45 minutes.

“(Patients) can really change their status within a matter of seconds,” Loehr said. “Just because a patient is stable when we leave the referring hospital doesn’t mean that they will be stable when we are in the air.”

Loehr has been part of the Children’s Mercy team for almost 10 years.

“There’s a lot of excitement and reward in seeing the improvement and impact you can see in the patient,” he said.

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