North Mississippi Medical Center on Wednesday held the grand opening of its new helicopter base at the George M. Bryan Airport in Starkville.
The new base — NMMC’s third in north Mississippi — has been in operation all May. Members of the flight crew estimated the newest helicopter in the fleet has been taken out to transport patients between 20 and 40 times since the base’s opening.
NMMC has been working with Air Methods, a medical transport company, to take patients to North Mississippi hospitals via helicopter for 30 years, according to Dennis Hebner, director of Ambulance Services. The hospital also has bases in Tupelo and Winona. Air Methods provides the helicopters, pilots and mechanics.
The hospital’s helicopters can transport patients all over north Mississippi and, when necessary, to Jackson, Memphis or other cities, depending on the medical needs of the patient, said Mark Galtelli, the regional business manager for Air Methods. However the goal is to keep the patients as close to home as possible.
The helicopters are all equipped with everything a standard intensive care unit is equipped with, Galtelli said. Though quarters are cramped, everything is within arms reach for the nurse and paramedic on the crew. The patient fits on a gurney that lies alongside the pilot, with the patient’s head facing the nurse and paramedic. The helicopter holds a pilot, a paramedic, a nurse and a patient. Depending on the weight of all the passengers in question, a family member of the patient may also be in the helicopter, particularly if the patient is a child, Galtelli said.
Several local and state elected officials were present at the base’s grand opening, which comes less than a week after the University of Mississippi Medical Center held the opening of its new Columbus base for its own medical transport helicopter.
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