Campbell RiverB次元官网网址檚 Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical (TEAAM) base is up and running, with crews ready to respond quickly to emergencies in hard-to-reach places on Vancouver Island and the North Coast.
B次元官网网址淲hat we do is different than search and rescue and different than ambulance,B次元官网网址� said Miles Randell, president of TEAAM Aeromedical. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 called B次元官网网址榤edically directed rescue.B次元官网网址� We marry the level of medical care with the ability to rescue someone.
B次元官网网址淎n example IB次元官网网址檒l give is that we can fly out, lower someone down on a long line, and if itB次元官网网址檚 a rolled over logging truck, not only can we provide advanced life support and critical medical care, but we can also provide the auto extrication,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e can cut the person out of that vehicle with the Jaws of Life. Then we can bring them up into the aircraft to fly direct to the most appropriate hospital.B次元官网网址�
The placement in Campbell River means that TEAAM can make good use of their two-hour-and-20-minute flight time before refuelling. At a speed of about 175 km/h, that puts the range of helicopters at around 400 km in any direction. Randell said their response time is about B次元官网网址渁 tenth of the time frame that it would take an ambulance to get someone out of those situations.B次元官网网址�
While the model is seen elsewhere in the world, Randell said there isnB次元官网网址檛 much like it in North America.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 quite a bit different than anything thatB次元官网网址檚 been done in Canada previously. In Switzerland they started doing this about 54 years ago. Australia and New Zealand are similar,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲here we are now (at a conference in) Austin, Texas, thereB次元官网网址檚 a service that does a similar thing that includes firefighting. ItB次元官网网址檚 one of only a couple in the US that does something similar. ItB次元官网网址檚 very different from whatB次元官网网址檚 been provided in Canada previously.B次元官网网址�
The base launched on August 10. TEAAM held an open house at the Campbell River Airport, which was attended by supporters like the Truck Loggers Association, Interfor, Western Forest Products, as well as Vancouver Island Helicopters, 49 North and others. Those partners helped with fundraising to get the equipment TEAAM needed for the launch.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a long process, most of it was fundraising to make sure we had the equipment to launch the base. We did pretty well with human resources. What we do is so very different, interesting and exciting,B次元官网网址� Randell said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got some incredible folks that work with us now in the Campbell River area. It took about a year for us to get enough funding to launch the Medevac capability. WeB次元官网网址檙e still fundraising to be able to add the rescue capability to it.B次元官网网址�
While as of Aug. 18 there hasnB次元官网网址檛 been any deployments of the service, TEAAM did do one mission before the official launch.
B次元官网网址淲e had one previous deployment before we launched the base,B次元官网网址� Randell said. B次元官网网址淲e went and picked up a patient with a respiratory condition. We looked at launching that out of Squamish, but the weather was bad.
B次元官网网址淚t was equidistant between the Squamish base and the Campbell River base. We were able to put something together at the drop of the hat with some dedicated team members who jumped into a helicopterB次元官网网址� and made it happen.B次元官网网址�
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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