STAR Flight adds
GlideScopeÒ
Ranger to medical equipment arsenal...
In February of 2008, STAR Flight
crew members completed a field trial of the GlideScopeÒ
Ranger. During that
trial period, the device was utilized during the intubation of patients
where previous intubation attempts without the device were unsuccessful.
This includes a patient that was transported to Brackenridge by
Austin-Travis County EMS ground Paramedics. The patient sustained
severe maxillofacial trauma and field attempts to secure an endotracheal
tube were unsuccessful. On arrival in the emergency department, the
patient had a rescue airway in place. The attending physician on duty
was Dr. James Kempema, also the STAR Flight
medical director. He called the on-duty crew and asked them to bring
the device into the ED. Within seconds, the patient was intubated and
the rescue airway was removed.
STAR Flight, in a partnership
with Brackenridge Trauma Services, recently initiated a groundbreaking study
researching the utilization of ultrasonography in the aeromedical and
prehospital environment. We are now using portable ultrasound to
evaluate blunt abdominal and thorasic trauma patients for internal bleeding
(FAST exam) as well as using the device to assist in placing intravenous
lines in 'difficult stick' patients. This is the first research
project of it's type in the United States. Read more about the
exciting new program
here...
Come check out the
new images and the new format of the now-infamous SF Photo Galleries!
STAR Flight
Initiates it's Hoist Program
Beginning the first week of November, 2007, STAR Flight "permanently" installed Goodrich external hoists on
both of our aircraft and formally initiated our external hoist rescue
program. Rescuers can now be lowered directly to a victim in need and
then be winched back up to the aircraft without us ever having to land.
This will be especially useful in flash flood situations and time-critical
patients injured in difficult-to-access areas. The new hoist, in
combination with our night-vision goggles, greatly enhances STAR
Flight's ability to serve and assist victims in need - day or night.
Click here to see images of this exciting new addition in action...
Also,
Click here to see some of our newly added rescue equipment
STAR Flight responds
with Texas National Guard to assist in multiple flooding events
In what has been a record year of
flooding for Texas, STAR Flight, along with numerous elements
and personnel from ATCEMS Special Operations and Austin Fire Dept., has
responded to seven requests to deploy to flash flooding that took place
around Central Texas.
Operating as Texas
Task Force 1 (TXTF1), ATCEMS rescue specialists are part of a statewide
contingent of specially trained public safety personnel called upon during
disaster conditions. Through the Governor's Office, the Texas DPS Division
of Emergency Management authorizes the activation of the specially trained
rescuers. STAR Flight Paramedic Rescue Swimmers have
deployed with Texas Air Guard to staff UH-60 Blackhawks for flooding in
Killeen, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Austin, and Marble Falls (which
received over 18 inches of rain in six hours!). They have also
participated in rescue operations for Tropical Storm Erin and Hurricane
Dean.
For more information
regarding our relationship with Texas Air Guard,
click
here...
Flight Paramedic/Crew Chief Steph Maier just
turned in his report of survival training in the wilderness of Central
Texas. Click here to read his real-life account. (It's worth
it...really)
What is STAR Flight?
STAR
Flight is the only 24/7 aerial emergency medical service in Texas that
performs highly specialized emergency response services, including,
emergency medical transport, still and swift-water rescue, search and
rescue, high angle rescue, fire suppression/aerial reconnaissance, and law
safety assistance. We have a unique program and we love it that way.
Click
here to read more
about the diverse mission we provide the citizens of Travis County and
Central Texas...
Over
200 photos of STAR Flight out "doin what we do". See images of
STAR Flight helicopters fighting fires, responding to car
wrecks on the highway, and pulling people out of the water. We also
have an entire gallery devoted to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina response.
We are always looking for new information
and photos to place on our website. If you have pictures that you
would like to see on the STAR Flight website, email them (along with your
contact information)
here...
Rock
Face Rescue BE A HERO..!
Use your technical rescue and piloting skills to control the Rescue Helicopter
as it battles through the terrain to rescue stranded climbers and hikers.
...Play it now
What kind
of person would ever be happier OUTSIDE a helicopter than IN one? What
does it take to be a member of the STAR Flight team? How much
training does it take to become proficient in Helicopter Rescue?
Answers to these questions and more await you in
STAR Flight
Bio's,
Training & Certs, and
Employment...
Pictures of our helicopters performing rescues, rescue definitions, lists
of rescue equipment and gear carried by our crews, and even a section on
STAR
Flight
Survival Training.
Click here to go to Rope and Rotors...
Table
of Contents
Each
year STAR Flight responds to over 200 requests for public
safety missions each year, including Search & Rescue, Fire Suppresson, and
Law Enforcement Assistance missions each year.
