With its new hospital-based helipad now fully operational, Penn Medicine Princeton Health recently hosted a special event giving local emergency medical services (EMS) providers and first responders a first-hand look at what PennSTAR — Penn Medicine’s critical care flight and ground transportation service — has to offer.
“We wanted to raise awareness of the new helipad and let EMS and first responders know about our capabilities,” said Debbie Millar, director of Community Wellness for Princeton Health, “but the focus of the day was definitely safety.” Approximately 55 people representing 19 police, fire, and EMS squads from the Princeton-Plainsboro area attended the special event.
The continuing education course, led by Kevin Thomas, PennSTAR’s operations/crew manager, covered a wide range of topics, such as setting up an impromptu landing zone in the field and how to ensure the safety of the EMS personnel, the flight crew and the patient. Attendees also got an opportunity to see the chopper, inside and out.
The helipad, located outside the Emergency Department of Princeton Medical Center, can be used to fly patients in need of emergency surgeries to HUP, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center or other hospitals. Since 1998, the PennSTAR flight crew has flown enough mileage to circle the earth more than 65 times and delivered lifesaving care to 40,000 patients