Three Instances Where An Air Ambulance Will Most Definitely Be Used

The use of helicopters to airlift injured persons to the nearest medical facility began in the Korean War. It was very common then for helicopter pilots to drop into enemy territory, remove wounded soldiers, and airlift them to M.A.S.H. units. After the Korean War, these pilots returned to civilian life to find a lack of jobs to which they had grown accustomed during their military service.

Fast forward a couple decades, and "air ambulances" once again had a role in the Vietnam War. It was about this time that hospitals in the U.S. began looking at helicopter transport of patients in the most extreme cases. Today, it is not uncommon at all for a hospital to have its own helicopter and helipad. Here are three instances where an air ambulance may be engaged. 

Sick Child Transports

Children with severe diagnoses of cancer and other illnesses who need to be seen by specialists located in only one place in the entire state are often airlifted to that hospital. The children always take precedence because the hospitals are trying to save these young lives by making sure the children get to the correct hospital on time and in as safe a way as they can. An air ambulance is also the fastest way to get a sick child to a specialty treatment center, and the bill is usually covered by insurance when there is an unpleasant diagnosis attached to the reason for the helicopter ride. 

Trauma to the Extreme

Really awful car accidents can result in extreme cases of physical trauma. When a hospital is not equipped for a certain level of trauma care, a patient has to be taken to the next closest hospital that is equipped for that level of trauma. If that hospital is too far away, the patient cannot go in a ground ambulance because of the dangers to the patient's life and the possible delays on the road. Ergo, the patient is airlifted to the trauma unit at that next hospital to save the patient from a lot of pain and delays in care. 

Epidemic Illnesses

The CDC expects all hospitals to immediately quarantine patients who present with deadly viruses. A recent example might be the Corona virus. If a local hospital has no way whatsoever of quarantining a patient that presents with this deadly disease, the CDC has to be alerted and the hospital has to await instruction. Usually, the CDC will request an airlift by helicopter to the nearest CDC quarantine station, where the patient, attending doctors and nurses, and possibly even the helicopter pilot may be quarantined.