Clinical Care

MEDICAL CREW:

Air Evac Lifeteam employs over 350 registered nurses and 350 paramedics who serve on its medical flight crews, with one nurse and one paramedic serving on each mission. The Company’s registered nurses average 6 years of critical care experience, with a minimum requirement of 3 years experience, while its paramedics average 10 years of active pre-hospital experience, with a minimum requirement of 3 years experience.

All medical crewmembers must be certified in:
  • Basic Life Support
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support
  • Pediatric Advanced Life Support
  • Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support or Basic Trauma Life Support
Additional certifications include:
  • Neonatal Resuscitation Provider
  • Critical Care Emergency Medical Technician – Paramedic
Ongoing competency standards are achieved through:
  • Skills Lab Training
  • Simulated Patient Flights
  • Helicopter Safety and Landing Zone Instruction
  • Quarterly and Annual Competency Training

Flight nurses and flight paramedics selected to work for Air Evac Lifeteam are enrolled in a six-month Clinical Internship Program. The Clinical Internship offers didactic training, unique hands-on skills training, simulated patient care experiences, flight training and safety training.

Advanced critical care topics include:
  • Cardiac Emergency Management
  • Hemodynamic Monitoring
  • Flight Physiology
  • Drug Assisted Intubation
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
Advanced skill level labs include:
  • Intubation
  • Surgical Cricothryotomy
  • Radiological and 12-lead EKG Interpretation
  • Ventilator Management
Also included:
  • Simulated Patient Flights with Experienced Air Evac Lifeteam Crewmembers
  • Night Vision Training Scenarios
  • Landing Zone and Helicopter Safety Class
  • Stress Management
  • Air Medical Resource Management

 The Air Evac Lifeteam Training Center, under the auspices of Patient Care Services, is responsible for the oversight of internal and external training programs. These programs include, but are not limited to:

  • American Heart Association (AHA) courses
  • National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) courses
  • Educational programs in which Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Contact Hours are awarded.

In 2008, Air Evac Lifeteam was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) and was approved as an American Heart Association Training Center. Air Evac EMS, Inc., is also an approved provider of the Continuing Education Coordinating Board of Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS) for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in the categories of First Responder, Basic and Advanced.

Finally, Air Evac Lifeteam has taken a leadership position within the air-medical industry through its investment and use of METI Emergency Care Simulators as part of its initial training process and recurrent training. The Emergency Care Simulator is a life-size computerized mannequin utilized for clinical skill set training from basic airway management to high level advanced procedures, such as chest tube insertion and central line placement. The simulator provides the ability to approach training from a scenario-based situation through the aspects of critical thinking and hands-on critical patient care. Air Evac Lifeteam employs 15 such Emergency Care Simulators throughout its service area, representing an investment of more than $500,000, to conduct quarterly competency training for its medical staff in the field to continue to ensure its personnel are well-trained and providing top-quality patient care.