Sanford Health Photo.
Sanford Health Air Ambulance recently completed upgrades to its fleet with three new Eurocopter EC-145s going into service. The new aircraft cost approximately $7.2 million each.
They join the organizations existing fleet of one Bell 230 and four King Air B200 airplanes, which are based out of Sioux Falls, S.D., Fargo, N.D., and Bemidji, Minn., serving patients both nationally and across the border in Canada.
Helicopter air ambulances provide fast, safe transport services from the scene of accidents anywhere from farmsteads to roadside accident scenes across the Midwest and beyond, said Tim Meyer, Sanford Health director for emergency air transport. These helicopters feature night vision, a 30-second start up and shutdown time and a wheeled patient stretcher. They really offer the latest in emergency flight technology.
The modifications to the EC-145s were completed by Metro Aviation, and included a full EMS configuration, operational options, single pilot IFR and air conditioning. They were also equipped with an internal 10 Liter LOX system.
Sanford Air Ambulance teams served approximately 3,000 patients by helicopter or fixed-wing in 2011. With state-of-the-art medical equipment, medical crews transport the sickest of patients with specialty crews in neonatal & pediatric intensive care and obstetrics & gynecology.
As we continue to grow together, we are always improving the technology and equipment available for patients across our footprint and beyond, said Mike Christianson, Sanford Health director of aviation. We couldnt be more excited about this step in improving care for our patients.
