Mercy Air celebrates one year of operation at the Big Bear base
Air Methods marks another milestone this year, as its Big Bear City Airport base operated by the Mercy Air division celebrates one year of service, during which it has served 334 patients, including 23 children, on 347 transports
Air Methods marks another milestone this year, as its Big Bear City Airport base operated by the Mercy Air division celebrates one year of service, during which it has served 334 patients, including 23 children, on 347 transports – the equivalent of nearly one patient per day.
Mercy Air serves the mountain communities and surrounding areas of San Bernardino County in partnership with the Big Bear Fire Department and the Bear Valley Healthcare District. Mercy Air’s Bell 407GXP – equipped with night vision goggles, autopilot, terrain avoidance and weather overlay – responded to 97 rescue scenes and performed 249 transport missions from a hospital to a specialised medical facility. According to Mercy Air, the average response time to a scene was less than 12 minutes and the average time for transports between medical facilities was less than 16 minutes; in total, Mercy Air Big Bear crews spent 311 hours in the air in just one year.
Air Methods Area Manager Jason Johnston said: “We are extremely proud of our Big Bear crew’s performance in our first year. The demand for air medical services in this area has exceeded our expectations, but our team rose to the challenge and safely and effectively delivered care and transport to hundreds of residents of the San Bernardino mountain communities. We have set a high mark that we hope to improve on in our second year.”
The company details that the most common reason air medical crews were called out was due to trauma, which accounted for 100 transports in the first year. Neurological conditions accounted for 73 call-outs; general medical, 68; cardiac, 49; pulmonary, 23; and transport for specialised surgery accounted for 12.
Mercy Air was established over 30 years ago in California and became a member of Air Methods in 1997. The one-year anniversary pf the Big Bear base comes just after the opening of the new Mercy Air 66 base, which will provide air medical services to the nearby Barstow community.