YNHHS recently launched its second SkyHealth critical care transport helicopter (right). The newer helicopter and its YNHH crew join the first SkyHealth, which launched in 2014 as a joint venture between YNHHS and Northwell Health of New York.
With second SkyHealth helicopter and crew, YNHHS expands critical care transport capabilities
YNHHS unveiled its second SkyHealth helicopter with a Feb. 9 ribbon-cutting. From left are Victor Morris, MD, Bridgeport Hospital chief medical officer; Ani Aydin, MD, medical director of the second SkyHealth; Donnie MacMillan, PA, YNHH manager, Critical Care Transport - SkyHealth; Laura Pham, MD, executive director, Patient and Physician Access, YNHHS; Joseph Bisson, senior vice president, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, YNHHS; Thomas Balcezak, MD, chief clinical officer, YNHHS; and Carla Carusone, director, Value Analysis, Corporate Supply Chain, YNHHS.
Both SkyHealth crews of critical care flight nurses and critical care flight paramedics provide ICU-level care while transporting patients from hospitals throughout the Northeast to the most appropriate YNHHS hospital.
On Feb. 9, Yale New Haven Health held a ribbon-cutting to officially launch its second SkyHealth critical care transport helicopter.
The second helicopter and crew will join the first SkyHealth helicopter, which launched in 2014 as a partnership between YNHHS and Northwell Health in New York. The original SkyHealth is based in Long Island and its crew are Northwell employees.
YNHHS is leasing the second SkyHealth from Med-Trans, a national air medical provider company. Med-Trans also employs the four pilots. The clinical crew of critical care flight nurses and critical care flight paramedics are Yale New Haven Hospital employees, who also staff critical care ground transports.
From its base at Sikorsky Memorial Airport, the second SkyHealth can fly to referring hospitals throughout the Northeast and bring patients to the most appropriate YNHHS hospital for specialized care. As with the first SkyHealth, the new helicopter and crew capabilities include:
- ICU care while enroute
- Invasive and non-invasive monitoring
- Multiple channel IV pumps
- Intra-aortic balloon pump management
- Advanced airway and ventilation management
“It’s a critical care unit in the sky,” Victor Morris, MD, chief medical officer, Bridgeport Hospital, said at the ribbon-cutting event. “Anything you can do in an intensive care unit you can do in that helicopter.”
Referring physicians can continue to request SkyHealth by calling the hospital’s Y Access Transfer Center: 888-964-4233 (888-YNHH-BED). Y Access staff work with YNHH physicians and coordinate the inter-facility transports.
Watch the ribbon-cutting:
