Princeton Medical Center — January 15, 2019 —The PennSTAR flight crew secured the critically ill patient into the chopper, lifted off from PMC’s new helipad, and headed southwest to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP).
Liftoff time was precisely 2:17 p.m. By 2:40 p.m., the patient was in the operating room at HUP, being prepped for a complex, emergency surgical procedure.
Thus went the first PennSTAR flight out of Princeton: only 20 minutes to landing at HUP and another three minutes to the OR,followed by successful, lifesaving surgery.
“From the moment that the patient arrived at the Emergency Department, our physicians and nurses did a remarkable job diagnosing, treating, and preparing the patient for transfer,” said Craig Gronczewski,MD, chairman of Emergency Services at Penn Medicine Princeton Health. He also praised the work of Princeton Health’s Security Department and the local police, fire and rescue squads that supported the patient transfer.
Gronczewski estimates the helipad will be used weekly, on average, to transfer the rare patient who needs a specific level of care typically provided by tertiary or quarternary hospitals.
Princeton Health president and CEO Barry S. Rabner said: “When we joined Penn Medicine, our promise to the community was that we would continue expanding our capabilities locally while, at the same time, giving our patients streamlined access to a level of care that you can only get at a handful of hospitals in the country.The helipad helps fulfill that promise. It’s reassuring to know that Penn Medicine’s two top 10 hospitals are only minutes away when our patients need them.”
Flights from PMC are managed by PennSTAR, Penn Medicine’s critical care flight and ground transportation service. PennSTAR, one of very few not-for-profit medical helicopter services operating in the Delaware Valley, participates with most insurance plans for medically necessary flights. PennSTAR transports patients regardless of ability to pay and does not balance bill them. Patients are only responsible for deductibles or copayments required by their insurance plans.
Patients and their doctors can choose where the patient will go for advanced care. PennSTAR will transport patients to any hospital within a 100-mile radius of Penn Medicine’s Philadelphia hospitals, provided that the hospital is able to receive them. PMC’s helipad will be available to other critical care air transport services as well for patients being transferred to non-Penn Medicine locations.
PennSTAR has maintained a perfect safety record since the program began in 1988.The PennSTAR flight team has provided lifesaving care to 40,000 patients and flown the equivalent mileage to circle the earth more than 65 times.
For more information about PennSTAR, visit www.pennmedicine.org/pennstar.