Aeromedics Essay Research Paper PCI Spring 2000Death

Aeromedics Essay, Research Paper PC-I Spring 2000 Death from above . The is how the modern generation has the Helicopter depicted to it by Hollywood. But reality hold a different truth. Most Ground Pounders remember things a little different. To them it was Dusty that is remembered from their war and they counted on. It was not a bird of prey, but a dove of mercy that brought life to the wounded. This air medical helicopter was the one that every wounded man listed and prayed for. And from this hope was where the future lay. The History behind Airmedical Evacuation began as many other things did, as an experimental derived from a war time military. During World War II the military s of the world took enormous casualties and suffered a high mortality rate because there was no

way to expeditiously evacuate the wounded. In 1951, at the start of the Korean police action, Igor Sikorski s new invention, the Helicopter, changed all that. Even tough crude it did allow for fast extrication of the worst of the wounded and allowed Doctors to begin treatment faster. And yet something was missing. As world events changed the United States found itself involved in another conflict. This time it was in a small country in South East Asia called Vietnam. It was here in 1962 that the first of the Dustoffs were seen. At first there were no medical personnel on these flights but reason soon prevailed and medics soon went into the air. For several years these medics were the first line of care for those troops. Then in 1967 a revised training program was begun and the

Paramedic was born. This new breed of combat medic was trained to an advanced level of medical care unheard of outside of a field hospital. With better equipment, more knowledge, and faster transport time, care of wounded personnel significantly improved and deaths from combat related injuries decreased. As with any other good idea word spread like wild fire. The civilian community saw the advantages of this new program and were impressed at the success rate being achieved. Thought was given to incorporating this same idea into the non-military sectors and allow for advanced treatment in a pre-hospital environment. With the Emergency Medical Act of 1973 , a place for the first real Emergency Medical Technicians was created. Throughout the United States, Ambulance services began

to adopt these new specialist and procedures. It is well documented how many potential lives have been saved and disabilities reduced since the appearance of this program and these personnel within the Emergency Medical Services. In the late 1970 s and early 1980 s a new form of pre-hospital transportation was adopted for use in the field environment and this is were that new invention from the Korea war came into use. The helicopter was now in an advanced stage and was finally able to provide safe and rapid air movement. Hospital personnel were first used in this service, but this composed mostly of Physicians. Even thought the level of care was excellent, the numbers of flight physicians were limited and the price was enormous. A new approach was needed. Shortly it was found

that Registered Nurses fit the bill as a natural choice. Even though they lacked the necessary pre-hospital experience, Registered Nurses did have the skills with emergency and critical care that are needed to properly function within their respective hospital rolls. With additional training they soon became the predominant member of the flight team . These providers were supplemented by other specialist such as Pediatric care nurses, Neonatal care nurses, Respiratory care technicians, and Burn specialists. In the early 1980 s the Paramedic was adopted by many programs, as a permanent supplement to this flight team. At first, off duty Paramedics were used from land based services. But over time, as many hospitals began to employ them within their emergency departments, Paramedics