High five
The Airbus H145 D3 has five rotor blades, one more than its predecessors. That extra blade helps reduce vibrations—a welcome attribute in a space where nurses may start IV lines and place breathing tubes at 160 mph. Crews—two nurses and a pilot—practice in the back of an ambulance with speakers blasting the 85-decibel roar of rotors. “You do not last long if you cannot work as a team,” says flight nurse Emily Otto.
I see you
Stanford Life Flight is not so much a flying ambulance as a soaring ICU. The new ride has a larger cabin space, making room for everything from advanced heart pumps to a ventilator to a neonatal incubator.
Ready for liftoff
Life Flight teams strive to take off from the roof of Stanford Hospital within seven minutes of a call. The aim is to be fast but not hurried, with everyone operating on ingrained habits. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast,” says program manager Lee McMurray.
Tech driven
The new helicopter is a smarter ride, with all-digital displays and superior autopilot features that can adjust max speed as payload weight changes or air temperature increases. And it can fly lower than its predecessor in obscured conditions. “This aircraft will get us underneath that cloud layer to where we can pick up patients we couldn’t previously,” McMurray says.
Go the distance
Life Flight covers a 300-mile radius, from Santa Barbara to far-north Crescent City, Calif., to Reno, Nev. One-fifth of calls come from on-scene 911 emergencies, including car crashes. But most transports take critically ill patients already in a hospital to facilities with higher levels of care.
At the top of their field
The crew might land on a beach to reach a shark bite victim, or transport a cardiac patient with an open chest, or treat a premature baby—a span of care that calls for supergeneralists. Stanford’s 13 flight nurses regularly rotate through the adult, pediatric, and neonatal ICUs, as well as the emergency department and labor and delivery. They’re also trained in survival techniques—such as upside-down water exits (choppers are top-heavy)—and to assist in landings, sometimes wearing night vision goggles to spot obstructions.
Sam Scott is a senior writer at Stanford. Email him at sscott3@stanford.edu.
