Gift From American Eurocopter Will Promote MedEvac Safety

A donation in the amount of $250,000 has been made to the MedEvac foundation by American Eurocopter. The money will be used to support the Foundation and its research to promote safety within the industry.

“As the leader in the industry, we know that it is imperative to maintain our ongoing support for research-related projects, like those done by the MedEvac Foundation, that directly impact the air medical industry,” explained Marc Paganini, American Eurocopter President and CEO. “We want to help make sure that the Foundation has the capabilities to continue the great work it does, in particular to improve safety.”

The mission of the MedEvac Foundation is to advance medical transport worldwide through support of research, education, outreach and other charitable services. The Foundation invests in vital data collection infrastructure that will help the medical transport community become more efficient in the delivery of safe, quality air medical and critical care ground transport to all critically ill or injured patients. Funding priorities include research in the areas of safety, program operations and clinical care – all benefiting patients.

“The MedEvac Foundation is delighted to have American Eurocopter's continued strong support, especially through our long-term Vision Zero partnership and with the Foundation's upcoming air medical transport economic impact study. We are thrilled that American Eurocopter has signed on to be the signature sponsor of the recently launched Vision Zero Toolbox," says Kevin Hutton, MD, FACEP, Chairperson, MedEvac Foundation International.

As Dr. Hutton noted, two of the initiatives that American Eurocopter’s donation will help support are the development of a Vision Zero Toolbox and an Economic Impact Study of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) industry.

Independently, the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Services (CAMTS) and the FAA are strongly encouraging the air medical transport community to implement comprehensive Safety Management Systems (SMS). Thus, many transport programs are looking for assistance and resources. Association of Air Medical Services' (AAMS) Vision Zero program, synonymous with air medical safety vigilance efforts, is an ideal place to house such a dedicated safety knowledge center.  To assist medical transport programs, the Vision Zero Toolbox powered by American Eurocopter was created and is a free web-based knowledge center that leverages and shares industry-wide safety-related resources.  The Vision Zero Toolbox enables the transport community to exchange safety tools, such as reference documents, videos, articles, standards, federal guidelines, annotated bibliographies, and industry best practices.
 
In the coming year, the MedEvac Foundation will undertake a study that will measure the positive economic impact and value of the air medical or HEMS industry. The study will describe important contributions that the industry makes to the economy and highlights areas of expected progress. In addition, an economic impact study will enable AAMS and its members to use the results to generate and sustain support for air medical transport at the national, state and local levels. The study would include direct and indirect economic impacts.

The donation will be a $200,000 cash donation, spread over four years, and a $50,000 in-kind donation of simulator time at American Eurocopter’s Training Center in Grand Prairie, Texas, which can be used for training in courses such as the new Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions Recovery course.

FMI: www.medievacfoundation.org, www.aamsvisionzero.org