Health
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – REACH Air Medical Services’ new base at Mather Airport in Sacramento is now operating 24/7 and has completed its first flight.
“We are very excited to provide 24/7 life‐saving emergency medical services to our hospital and EMS partners throughout the greater Sacramento area,” said Eric Polan, program manager at the base.
The base will be staffed 24/7 with nationally certified Flight Nurses and Paramedics along with highly skilled aviation staff and dedicated maintenance support to maintain the highest availability possible to support the region.
“REACH has been providing emergency air medical transports to Northern California patients for more than 27 years. We are pleased to expand our services with a new helicopter at this base,” said Sean Russell, president of REACH.
“REACH has provided patient transport services to the Sacramento region for many years using an airplane, but we now offer the expanded capabilities of a new EC135 helicopter. This allows us to better serve our EMS and hospital partners within the Sacramento region augmenting our Stockton, Marysville and Redding bases. The EC135 helicopter was chosen to serve the area because it has a larger capacity to carry patients and crew,” Russell said.
This aircraft is capable of airspeeds of up to 150 miles per hour, and is equipped with night vision goggles to enhance safety of nighttime operations.
REACH is part of the AirMedCare Network – the nation’s largest air medical transport membership program – which covers out-of-pocket expenses in the event of an emergency air transport by REACH or another AirMedCare Network provider.
For a low-cost annual fee, individuals and companies may join more than 1.5 million members who receive coverage from more than 200 air transport locations in 27 states coast to coast.
REACH also has a base at Lampson Airport in Lakeport.
For more information, visit www.REACHair.com .
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- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital recently donated $5,000 to the Lake County Fire Protection District to purchase three automatic early defibrillators, or AEDs.
These devices, used to quickly diagnose and treat sudden cardiac arrest, play an important role in a cardiac program for student athletes in the Konocti Unified School District.
The topic of sudden cardiac arrest in the student population hits a raw nerve in Lake County, according to Fire Chief/Paramedic Willie Sapeta, Lake County Fire Protection District.
In the past decade two local student athletes experienced cardiac arrest events. One student survived and the other didn’t.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), about 250,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest away from hospitals.
Up to 7,000 of these victims are children – and evidence suggests the risk is higher during or immediately following vigorous exercise.
The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that nearly one out of every 50,000 student athletes runs the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
“We implemented a school district program nearly three years ago to help prevent potentially fatal heart events in student athletes,” Sapeta said. “So far we’ve prescreened nearly 200 students for heart irregularities using 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) technology. The AEDs funded by Sutter Lakeside add another essential element to the program – immediate response to sudden cardiac arrest at sporting events.”
One AED will be kept at the Lower Lake High School gymnasium for elementary and high school home athletic events, and the other two will travel with teams to away games.
Athletic program directors will be trained to use the devices and respond to any cardiac arrest event while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) first responders. This will contribute to the safety of student athletes as well as spectators.
“We thank Sutter Lakeside for this generous contribution that makes a real difference to our local schools,” Sapeta said. “The AEDs are a critical part of our program to keep kids safe, although I’m hoping we never have to use them.”
To learn more about Sutter Lakeside, visit www.sutterlakeside.org/ .
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
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