Penn State Hershey Medical Center has an exciting new addition to their medical services.
They've purchased a new helicopter to join the Life Lion team.
Life Lion had three helicopters, but one was a backup with less medical equipment that was being leased out. Now with the purchase of the new helicopter, the fleet is better than ever.
The new helicopter was bought from a bank in Brazil and upgraded from a VIP helicopter to a state-of-the-art medical helicopter, costing $3.8 million in total.
The new aircraft can carry up to seven people, allowing for a medical specialist to ride along when needed to provide critical care during transport.
Along with the extra space comes extra equipment. This helicopter has a touch screen GPS that doesn't just give directions, but also weather conditions which can be extremely helpful when flying through storms.
The newest piece of equipment is called "Video Laryngoscopy" which allows medical staff to insert breathing tubes using a video camera to help guide the way.
The Life Lion crew says that this is a great addition to their fleet.
"To be honest with you, I've been flying this model aircraft since 1983 and it is literally the smoothest dolphin that I've ever flown,” explained Life Lion Air Medical Service Chief Pilot Doug Turk. “I'm certainly happy about that and the avionics upgrade up front to a touch screen allows the pilot one stop shopping for everything he needs to do to conduct a safe flight and the medical interior is state-of-the-art as well."
The new helicopter has already been on duty for over a week and the first rescue flight was taken just 15 minutes after it was cleared for duty.
They've purchased a new helicopter to join the Life Lion team.
Life Lion had three helicopters, but one was a backup with less medical equipment that was being leased out. Now with the purchase of the new helicopter, the fleet is better than ever.
The new helicopter was bought from a bank in Brazil and upgraded from a VIP helicopter to a state-of-the-art medical helicopter, costing $3.8 million in total.
The new aircraft can carry up to seven people, allowing for a medical specialist to ride along when needed to provide critical care during transport.
Along with the extra space comes extra equipment. This helicopter has a touch screen GPS that doesn't just give directions, but also weather conditions which can be extremely helpful when flying through storms.
The newest piece of equipment is called "Video Laryngoscopy" which allows medical staff to insert breathing tubes using a video camera to help guide the way.
The Life Lion crew says that this is a great addition to their fleet.
"To be honest with you, I've been flying this model aircraft since 1983 and it is literally the smoothest dolphin that I've ever flown,” explained Life Lion Air Medical Service Chief Pilot Doug Turk. “I'm certainly happy about that and the avionics upgrade up front to a touch screen allows the pilot one stop shopping for everything he needs to do to conduct a safe flight and the medical interior is state-of-the-art as well."
The new helicopter has already been on duty for over a week and the first rescue flight was taken just 15 minutes after it was cleared for duty.