[ronmil]

I, along with some friends, were discussing the decision to use Life Flight to transport Kody Swanson after the accident during the Hut Hundred rather than the available ambulances. Considering the driving time to St. Mary's vs the amount of time it took for the helicopter to arrive, wouldn't Kody have arrived much sooner in the conventional ambulance? Or, was there another consideration involved?

[Hawker]

I was a mechanic for a Life Flight. The biggest difference between an ambulance and a life flight is that there are only paramedics on an ambulance. The helicopters have a 3 person crew...The pilot, An RN and a Paramedic. Along with the RN on the helicopter, comes the life saving equipment and narcotics that only an RN can administer. Another thing to consider is if if St. Mary's is a "Level 1" Trauma Center. If a patient "crashes" in route, a helicopter can divert much easier and faster than an ambulance.

[Bill Gardner]

I don't know much about the distance involved here but I've been airlifted once... I live 15 minutes from my Putnam County hospital. I was being flown to IU Medical Center in Indianapolis. It takes approximately 45 minutes to drive to Indy from there, it's about 40 miles. When the helicopter left Putnam County Hospital, my wife left immediately to go home and pick up some clothes before heading to Indy... When she got home, she recieved the phone call that I had already landed at the hospital. I'm sure my wife broke a few speed laws in her attempt to get home, so I'd say flying was faster.

[Rpracing1]

Ron, You know how many potholes exist between Haubstadt and St. Marys Hospital............With a neck or back injury, I would not want to take that extra added risk of injury.......JMO

[farriswheel]

I had thought about the same thing, the only thing I could think of was that there was a threat of back/neck injury and a ride in an ambulance was too risky due to the amount of movement. I've never flown in a helicopter so maybe they are just as rough if not more so...but I noticed the ambulance didn't pull any closer to the helicopter either so I figured fear of doing more damage was the reason behind it all.

[racefan20]

Originally Posted by Bill Gardner I don't know much about the distance involved here but I've been airlifted once... I live 15 minutes from my Putnam County hospital. I was being flown to IU Medical Center in Indianapolis. It takes approximately 45 minutes to drive to Indy from there, it's about 40 miles. When the helicopter left Putnam County Hospital, my wife left immediately to go home and pick up some clothes before heading to Indy... When she got home, she recieved the phone call that I had already landed at the hospital. I'm sure my wife broke a few speed laws in her attempt to get home, so I'd say flying was faster.

Your wife...breaking the Speed Limit!!!??? Nah

[wtvwrocks]

I made that drive for 10+ years.....even without traffic (ambulance speeds) it's probably at minimum a 25 minute drive. St. Mary's was a client of mine for the entire time I was in Evansville. It is a Level 1 trauma unit and (I believe) the only hospital with a full time dedicated chopper.....It is a rough drive with numerous railroad tracks in addition to the pot holes.

Besides that I will say - I have worked at TSS for over 10 years....and while I wasn't there this past weekend, I have seen every kind of crash imagineable there (including the non wing guy that flipped into the pits) I've seen them land on cars, in the bean field, hung in between the signs, etc. NEVER have they called Life Flight (thank God) while I have been there so if they decided to call it was because they NEEDED to. Possibly because of the crew on board the chopper - possibly because of the equipment available on board. They never call Life Flight prematurely so if they choose to do it - it's because they see an immediate need. Fortunately, they have several off-duty county sheriff deputies on staff that can make the call to Life Flight immediately without waiting on a second opinion or someone else's request. In all the crashes I've seen there it is a very fortunate thing they haven't needed it sooner, also, with the good reports coming from the Swanson's I think this is definitely a case of "better safe than sorry".

Sacha

[jim goerge]

I think they were worried about a neck are back injury . I myself think it was the right call for life flight sure it delayed the finish but who cares a young mans life was at stake . Maybe the paramedics felt it was in Kody:s best interest to use life flight . Maybe you think it was overplayed I don"t I am glad they played it safe Sacha about 15 years ago a guy flipped and another cars bumper got in the top of his cage and life flight was called then

[cleatziff]

I am a profesional firefighter so I may be able to provide a little insight on this. We will typically call for a helicopter if the patient is in serious condition and there will be any type of delay with getting the patient to the hospital. For example if it will take a while to extricate a person from a vehicle we will start life flight. Typically the decision boils down to can the ambulance get to the hospital quicker than a helicopter. If the answer is yes the ambulance will take the patient. If in fact it is a 25 minute drive to the hospital it sounds like the helicopter was defenitly the way to go. It does take several minutes for the helicopter to arrive, but I am sure they were there by the time the ambulance would have been ready to head to the hospital. I was not at the track the night of this incident, so this is kind of a general statement. However, I am sure it was in the best intrest of the patient to use the helicopter. It is not uncommon, in even the best situations, to take 10-15 minutes to prepare a patient for transport to the hospital. If a helicopter is started right away they will typically be able to arrive pretty close to the time the patient is ready to be transported to the hospital.

well I was personally life flighted a few years back, they had better life support. I beleive the bill was 78 thousand dollars, of which I only owe 78 thousand dollars. Part that sucks is I only remember abt 15 seconds of it, when we were landing on the hospital roof.