Air Methods intends to start a new medical flight service in Hartford in the spring of the company

Airport manager Darryl Kranz said parts of the plan have received state approval but the company is now awaiting local approvals. “LifeNet” is painted on all Hartford-based helicopters.

Sam Nepple, the company According to the Director of Base Integrations, the company’s employees are very familiar with Wisconsin and have air partnerships in several other Wisconsin countries Cities. “We carried out a comprehensive review of the area and needs and identified the Hartford area as a place where air medical services are required.” Said Nepple. “I was at the airport and visited him several times with some city officials. These include airport manager Darryl Kranz and city planner Justin Drew. I think it’s an excellent facility and it really shows the investment the city has made lately to expand resources and services there. That’s one of the reasons we identified it as a location. “

Nepple lives in Wisconsin and knows that the weather here will affect the construction of the crew headquarters.

“Hopefully the company will be able to start operating from Hartford in late spring or early summer,” said Nepple. “We will respond to requests from 911 or a hospital, so the service area can vary. I would say we will normally serve a 50 mile circle around Hartford. It could go a little further depending on the situation.

“Hartford will be using an Airbus EC-135 helicopter. It is a twin-engine aircraft and can carry up to three medical crew members. So we have the opportunity to take additional ones Crew members as required by a hospital and provide a variety of services on the plane, ”said Nepple. “We can administer blood products, perform airway interventions, ventilate patients and have a large number of drugs on board. There are also a number of surgical procedures that are also performed directly on the aircraft. “

Nepple said Air Methods was one of the first aviation medicine companies in the country. He said the 14 Hartford employees would be there for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“They will respond to emergency calls or calls from first responders about accident scenes,” said Nepple. “The helicopter will be manned by a pilot, a flight nurse and a flight paramedic at all times. The flight nurse and the flight paramedic have received extensive training in critical respects Nursing medicine. The helicopter is really a flying intensive care unit. “

Nepple said the company’s employees also had to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which provided them with additional training and expertise.

“We had to do more from the point of view of personal protection and we have to clean every helicopter after a transport,” said Nepple. “It used to take a couple of hours, now we’re dealing with a system that takes a lot less time.”