[Scan-DC] Medevac helo tail numbers

Tue Dec 13 17:51:39 EST 2005

Interesting. Here on west coast we have had this set up with first responders for sometime.  In California they use the  Calcord frequency for all aeromedical coordination with ground units (156.075).  This is in all police, fire and most EMS vechicles so it works well in California.

In Washington we use a statewide simplex 800 frequency known as WA OPS 1 (there are five of these simplex channels - they are different than the ICall and Itac channels) for any region with 800.  This simplex allows excellent ground to air coverage.

While all the aircraft have Wolsfburgs or equivalents, with many frequencies and we can at times use the local frequency, we also use Washington Fire Chiefs REDNET (153.83) for fire agency to ground coordination and WA Police LERN (155.37) for coordination with police.  Most coordination with police is done with State Patrol so this works out well.

Not really DC area, but just some information on how done elsewhere.

73's
Duane 
WB9RER
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Harper" <bharper at vt.edu>
To: "Scan DC" <Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Medevac helo tail numbers
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:02:37 -0500

> 
> At 1:52 PM -0500 12/13/05, Alan Henney you wrote:
> > Can anybody provide N-tail numbers for any of the medevac helicopters
> > in Virginia including MedSTAR?  I'm trying to compile a list.
> 
> I don't have the numbers you are looking for, but I'll keep an eye 
> out.  In the wilds of Southwest Virginia, we have two medevac 
> services operating, Carilion and HealthNet Aeromedical Services.
> 
> HealthNet is now operating a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 out of Bluefield, 
> WVa. and offering service into Southwest Virginia.  Service to 
> Pulaski Community Hospital started in November.
> 
> Carilion, long-time operator of LifeGuard-10 out of Roanoke, added 
> LifeGuard-11 (a Eurocopter 135) back in February to fill a need 
> further to the southwest. According to the Roanoke Times article, 
> "The aircraft will be operated by LifeNet, a division of Air 
> Methods, and staffed by CPTS, which will provide critical-care 
> trained flight nurses and paramedics."  The article says 
> LifeGuard-11 will be based in the Wythe/Smyth County area, which 
> pretty much means Mountain Empire Airport at Groseclose.
> 
> HealthNet is trying to establish standard frequencies for ground 
> contacts.  Someone let a domain name expire, so I pulled this 
> article from Google's cache 
> (http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:qeE49QmsMBcJ:www.healthnetwv.org/news.cfm%3Ffunc%3Dfullstory%26storyid%3D32+&hl=en):
> 
> Designated Ground Contact Frequencies To Simplify Response
> - October 18, 2005
> 
> Effective communications with ground based emergency services 
> agencies is critical to safe helicopter operations. HealthNet 
> Aeromedical Services has a new approach that will simplify the 
> process.
> 
>         HealthNet has a nearly twenty year history of excellence in 
> critical care patient transportation. This history extends to our 
> communications program as well. The relationship we have built with 
> our regions emergency services providers and 911 centers has led to 
> vast improvements in service delivery to our patients.
> 
>         As we look toward our 20th anniversary, we will implement a 
> program that will enhance radio communications with ground 
> agencies. The assistance of emergency personnel and 911 
> communicators/administrators in this effort will be critical.
> 
>         We are completing a most successful pilot program in Mason 
> County, West Virginia where frequencies known as Aeromed 1 and 
> Aeromed 2 are consistently used for air to ground communications at 
> accident scenes. Aeromed 1 is a VHF frequency (155.400/110.9 
> Transmit PL/Open Receive PL) and Aeromed 2 is a UHF frequency 
> (467.975/151.4 Transmit PL/Open Receive PL). We request that each 
> 911 center, EMS, fire and police agencies work together to 
> implement this communications plan. In many cases, one of these two 
> frequencies will already be programmed in vehicle or portable 
> radios. As reprogramming occurs, we ask that radios be checked for 
> these frequencies and that they are added as necessary. Please 
> identify the alphanumeric displays as Aeromed 1 and Aeromed 2 where 
> appropriate.
> 
>         Be assured, our flight teams will continue to respond to 
> emergencies in your community and communicate with local agencies 
> on any assigned frequency during the transition period. We 
> understand that this may be a long process. It is our hope that as 
> time progresses that we will see increased use of Aeromed 1 and 2 
> for ground contact at scenes and that communication will be 
> improved and simplified.
> 
>         If you have questions regarding this communications plan, 
> please contact Clinton Burley, Manager of HealthNet's Huntington 
> base. He can be reached at 304-526-2324 or by email, 
> clinton.burley at chhi.org .
> 
> -------------
> Bruce in Blacksburg
> 
> --
> 
> Bruce B. Harper          KB4GIW       bharper at vt.edu
> 2508 Manchester Street                (540)552-0683 - home
> Blacksburg, Virginia  26060           (540)231-4360 - work
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Duane Mariotti, BSEE
Bellevue, Washington
mmariotti at mail.com