Since its inception in 1984, the Air Care flight team has completed more than 25,000 accident-free patient care flight missions. We offer 48 hours of service per day with 2 BK-117 helicopters, one of which is based at University Hospital and the other based remotely in Butler County to the north. Following a rigorous 16 hour flight MD orientation (including high fidelity simulator training) and a minimum of six "buddy flights" late in the intern year, our EM residents join the Air Care team as flight docs starting in the R2 year and continuing throughout the remainder of residency. A physician is on every flight and functions as an integral part of a two-person medical crew, along with a flight nurse. The experience on the helicopter is an unparalleled training opportunity within the field of EM, and is a critical factor in the clinical maturation of our residents. Attending medical control is always available by radio or telephone, but our flight docs and flight nurses (each of which is truly "the best of the best") have earned considerable autonomy in the care of our critically ill and injured patients. Air Care is clearly one of the jewels of the EM residency program, the Department of EM, and University Hospital.

Air Care is a part of the continuum of care offered by the larger organization: Air Care & Mobile Care of University Hospital of Cincinnati (www.aircareandmobilecare.com). Air Care & Mobile Care (ACMC) is one of less than five medical transport services in the nation to be accredited by CAMTS (Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems) in four levels of care (BLS, ALS, Mobile ICU, and Air). CAMTS accreditation is a voluntary and rigorous process, and is regarded as a marker of clinical and operational excellence within the air medical community. Less than half of US helicopter EMS programs are currently CAMTS accredited.

Last year, Air Care transported over 1200 patients. Approximately 60% of our flights are interhospital critical care transfers and 40% are scene flights, which are virtually all for trauma. About 11% of our flight volume is pediatric. Our flight crews endotracheally intubate approximately 10% of Air Care’s patients, either prior to or during flight. As a gift of Dr. Gibler and Vanguard, the EM residency now has an academic membership in (Air Medical Physician Association, www.ampa.org). The past two years have seen renewed focus on research within Air Care, epitomized by our membership in CCT CORE (critical care transport collaborative outcomes research effort, www.cctcore.org) an international research collaboration of more than forty programs. Five HEMS-specific studies are currently underway within the program, all of which include resident involvement.

At Air Care, safety is much more than a priority; it is our most important core value. For instance, in 2008 we completed our third, totally voluntary, independent safety audit at considerable cost in order to maximize programmatic safety. Our commitment to safety is also evidenced by our recent acquisition of night vision goggles, which will be implemented in early 2009. Air Care’s aviation services are provided by Omniflight, who employs our pilots and mechanics, with whom it is a privilege to work as they are some of the best in the worldwide air medical community. Our motto is: "Safety—Every One, Every Mission, Every Day."

To contact ACMC please visit www.aircareandmobilecare.com or call 513-584-CARE.