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Request Considerations

When to Request Memorial MedFlight

Memorial MedFlight assists regional health care professionals with rapid, efficient critical care transport of patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries.

Memorial MedFlight provides on-site assessment and stabilizing treatment, rapid air transportation and in-flight critical care for pediatric and adult patients. Types of patients we serve include:

Cardiac patients

  • Patients with severe burns, including those requiring hyperbaric oxygen
  • Trauma patients, including those with head and spinal cord injuries
  • Patients with acute surgical or vascular emergencies
  • Patients with acute pulmonary or neurological emergencies
  • Patients with a wide variety of critical care needs, including those requiring advanced invasive monitoring and mechanical ventilation

Critical Information — Needed at the Time of the Call

  • Your hospital’s name and address
  • Call-back telephone number
  • Location of patient (ED, ICU, CCU)
  • Initial diagnosis and/or nature of the injuries
  • Age(s), especially for pediatric patients
  • Destination hospital, including name, address and unit/department
  • Accepting physician
  • Need for telemetry
  • Current invasive lines, assistive devices or drips, or specialty equipment needed
  • If patient is hemodynamically stable
  • Airway control status
  • Vital signs
  • Neurological status

Scene Information

The name of the requesting agency and radio frequency for air-ground communication
Location, including scene site, cross streets, landmarks and county name
Biological or chemical contamination at the scene

Trauma Scene Response Scenarios:

Mechanism of Injury

  • Vehicle collision at > 20 mph with ejected occupants.
  • Pedestrian or cyclist struck by a motor vehicle at > 10 mph
  • Death of another individual in the same passenger compartment
  • Falls > 15 feet
  • Multiple patients

Clinical Condition

  • Penetrating trauma or crush injury to the head, neck, chest, abdomen or pelvis
  • Unstable vital signs
  • Glasgow Coma Score < 10 or deteriorating mental status
  • Neurological status suggestive of spinal cord injury
  • Obvious unstable pelvic injury
  • Major burns ? 20% body surface area
  • Partial or complete extremity amputations or vascular compromise

Difficult Access Situations

  • Ground ambulance access impeded by road, weather or traffic conditions
  • Remote area

Time/Distance Factors

  • Prolonged extrication time
  • Prolonged transport time by ground ambulance
  • Utilization of ground ambulance leaves the local community without adequate EMS coverage

Inter-Hospital Transports

  • Receiving hospital, physician and unit
  • Call-back telephone number
  • Continuous infusions
  • Invasive lines or specialty equipment needed
  • Weight of the patient

If Patient is Being Transferred to Memorial Hospital of South Bend

  • If assistance is needed with obtaining an accepting physician, please provide the accepting physician’s name or specialty requested
  • Please provide the unit/department name if the patient is already accepted

For safety consideration with any type of air transport request, please advise Memorial MedFlight if any other flight service has turned down your request due to weather issues