VCU news

By Joe Kuttenkuler

RICHMOND, Va. – Critically ill and injured patients in Central Virginia now can get to VCU’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals faster from other medical facilities in the state. VCU Life Evac – a new helicopter transport service – provides 24-hour, hospital-to-hospital transfers.

"This puts the resources and expertise of our Level I Trauma Center and our entire acute-care medical and surgical teams in the air," said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of the VCU Health System. "We’re excited to offer this service to our referring hospitals and physicians."

The helicopter’s first flight occurred on Sunday, Oct. 14. VCU Life Evac flew to Southside Community Hospital in Farmville – 65 miles from Richmond – to bring a patient with a head injury back to MCV Hospitals. The helicopter landed on MCV Hospitals’ rooftop helipad, which opened in May.

Until now, patient transfers from other medical centers have been done via ground ambulance. The VCU Life Evac service will drastically reduce transfer times. The trip from MCV Hospitals to Farmville and back, for example, took less than one hour by helicopter. It would have taken about two hours round-trip by ambulance.

"Minutes truly make a difference when it comes to caring for a patient who is very sick or injured," said Deborah Macy, interim nurse manager in the department of emergency medicine in the School of Medicine at MCV Hospitals. "The helicopter enables us to quickly deliver care to the patient and the patient to the hospital."

VCU Life Evac is a partnership between the VCU Health System and Rocky Mountain Helicopters of Provo, Utah. RMH owns and maintains the aircraft and supplies the pilots. VCU provides the medical staff, which consists of 14 critical-care nurses and paramedics. One of each will be on board during every transport. All flight team members have a background in surgical trauma and cardiac critical care and must undergo extensive training to obtain required Critical Care Transport Certification.

VCU Life Evac’s coverage area extends, but is not limited to, a 100-mile radius around MCV Hospitals. Hospital officials expect 32 flights during the first month of operation and more than 600 during the first year.

In addition to medical-center transfers, VCU Life Evac also will enhance the Virginia State Police MedFlight service. If the MedFlight helicopter is already responding to a medical incident, VCU Life Evac will be available to respond to emergencies.

"We’re looking forward to augmenting the invaluable service that MedFlight has provided to our hospital and community for the last 17 years," said Harinder Dhindsa, M.D., medical director of VCU’s Life Evac service.

Initially, VCU’s helicopter will be housed at Richmond International Airport until hospital officials can determine a suitable area closer to the MCV Campus.

RMH has been in the air medical transport service for 25 years. Serving 59 locations, RMH operates the largest service of its kind in the United States.

MCV Hospitals is the only Level I Trauma Center in Central Virginia and one of just five in the state. As a Level I center, MCV Hospitals provides comprehensive, specialized care for severely injured patients, including 24-hour, on-site surgical staff and dedicated operating room space.