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Air Ambulances/Helicopters |
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No part of this website or page is not endorsed by any of the agencies on this website. |
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Misc. Frequencies |
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AEROMEDICAL:
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N365CH
AirLife 1 Champaign (ARCH Helicopter) Red Belle 407 |
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"Henry" units - see Illinois Department of Transportation
6/2002-IDOT to phase out emergency helicopters By JEFF DRUCHNIAK STATE CAPITOL BUREAU
The Illinois Department of Transportation has finalized a schedule to phase out state helicopters used for emergency medical transport to hospitals in Springfield. Transportation Secretary Kirk Brown said Tuesday that Gov. George Ryan's new budget forced the hastened plan. However, Brown said, IDOT's preparations to stop using the helicopters were long-standing. He said private helicopter services will perform the service.
Brown was testifying Tuesday during Illinois House budget hearings. He said newly available funds had allowed IDOT to operate the helicopters past the initial December 2001 deadline. IDOT uses helicopters in Springfield, Peoria and Carbondale to transport trauma victims from rural areas to city hospitals.
Service to Springfield and Peoria hospitals will end in June, Brown said, but Carbondale is budgeted to use its state helicopter through the end of the year.
After that, the state will retain three helicopters, one on a leased basis, from its original fleet of seven. They will be used only for natural-disaster response, homeland security or police emergencies. "The concern we had all along is these helicopters are old. They're going to be down for maintenance a lot," Brown said. As a result, only two helicopters will remain active at a time, he said. Brown added, "That way, we can have a third as a standby backup."
Two private firms, ARCH Air Medical Services of Springfield and AirEvac Lifeteam of West Plains, Mo., have volunteered to expand their businesses to cover the emergency needs of the region, Brown said. The companies already serve hospitals in southern Illinois and surrounding states. Both firms' emergency flights frequently are covered by health insurance, company spokesmen said. The state currently collects no payment for its helicopter flights and operates the program for about $2.5 million a year. Life Flight, a similar business, already operates helicopters from a base in Peoria. ARCH Air and AirEvac Lifeteam said in letters to IDOT that they provide service at no cost to hospitals.
AeroCare Website
Member of Will/Grundy County EMS System
Air Response, Inc. (Nationwide) Website
Aero Flight 7700 Aviation Dr. Marion, IL 62959 (800) 631-6565 Toll Free Phone (888) 631-6565 Toll Free Fax
Lifeflight (OSF St. Francis - Peoria) OSF Website Lifeflight Website
LifeFlight Emergency Helicopter Service, one of the first hospital-based emergency helicopter services in the nation, transports patients to OSF Saint Francis from community hospitals and accident scenes. A 40-mile trip from sister hospital OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, for example, takes just 13 minutes from lift-off to landing. LifeFlight serves residents in 12 central Illinois counties. The helicopter and its flight team function as an airborne emergency department. OSF Call Center, toll-free, at 1-888-6-ASK OSF (1-888-627-5673).
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
530 NE Glen Oak Ave, Peoria, IL 61637
1-309-655-2000
N5435V - Started in 1984 with a Bell 206 and transitioned into the S76 in 1989. In August of 2002 they will be changing to two Bell 230's. Flight crew is 2 pilots and 2 Flight Nurses.
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123.05 |
Unicom |
AR |
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7/3/02 |