Residents and visitors within 150 miles of Evanston, Wyoming, who need emergency medical services face better odds for survival thanks to the launch of a Wyoming Life Flight helicopter base at the city’s hospital.
Wyoming Life Flight Account Executive Erik Bornemeier said parent company Air Methods recently added the base in addition to its Casper location to enhance services in southwest Wyoming. The decision followed a study of the EMS needs of the region.
“Southwest Wyoming has struggled and continues to struggle in regard to EMS,” he said. “Because of the research we did and in meeting with community leaders, it was a great place to put a helicopter service because we can get to people faster and sooner.”
And when it comes to heart attacks, strokes, and severe trauma — time is critical.
“With a helicopter base located at Evanston Regional Hospital, patients and families in our community are less likely to wait for transport when advanced critical care is vital to improved patient outcomes,” said Shelley Green, spokesperson for the hospital.
Bornemeier said the helicopter’s primary service area will cover 150 miles in any direction, meaning they could service Dubois to the northeast, southern Idaho to the northwest, Vernal Utah to the south and Rawlins to the west.
“This aircraft will best be used in that southwest corner,” he said. “People like to recreate and get broken up on the north side of the Uintas there, so Kings Peak.”
He said ground EMS sometimes struggle to reach the area — taking two hours or more on the ground. The helicopter can reach people in the area in 15 minutes.
Specific Helicopter
The AS350, or A-Star helicopter made by Airbus, was specifically chosen for the base. The model has the record for the highest landing and takeoff — that would be on the summit of Mt. Everest in 2005.
Bornemeier said he did not have projections on the number of patients who might benefit from the service, but he expects the copter to be busy. The helicopter and airplane in Casper typically do about 150 to 200 missions each annually.
“A lot of patients from the Evanston and Rock Springs area go to Utah, to those trauma hospitals,” he said. “I hate to say I’m hoping for a lot of numbers, but I will say it will get used quite a bit.”
The three-man crew consists of a pilot, critical-care nurse and advanced paramedic. The base has four paramedics, four nurses and four pilots. The base’s outreach coordinator grew up in Evanston, Bornemeier said.
Bornemeier said the helicopter is basically a “flying ICU” with the nurses and paramedics trained for trauma, cardiac, stroke, and emergency maternal care.
The Evanston base does not have neonatal transport capabilities, but a crew from Idaho can be brought in for those needs, he said.
Having the crew based at the hospital means the nurses and paramedics will spend time training in the facility as well as teaching hospital staff and establishing relationships with the Emergency Department doctors at the hospital.
“These education agreements are really important, and it builds an Esprit de Corps, so we’re able to work with the docs,” he said. “They know the names and faces of the clinicians and that just means smoother, faster care.”
Green agrees.
“The EHR (Evanston Regional Hospital) team will receive education from flight nurses and paramedics in trauma, cardiac, pediatric, and obstetric emergencies,” she said. “Continual education of our staff is a priority in our mission to care for the community.”
High-Risk Pregnancy Help
While Bornemeier does not anticipate a lot of flights for emergency maternity patients, he said the Evanston base was selected due to those kinds of needs.
He estimates six to eight patients a year needs emergency flights due to a high-risk pregnancy.
Bornemeier likens the A-Star helicopter to a Toyota Tacoma truck meaning it is capable and dependable. He said it was chosen specifically to meet the needs of southwest Wyoming.
“Our starting lift is 6,700 feet. So we are starting at altitude and then we’re getting into those 10,000-feet (areas),” he said. “We’re dealing with wind and high heat.
"On average we are 98-99% in service on this aircraft. So, it’s especially good to have one for this altitude.”
When a call comes in, Bornemeier said the crew goes through what sounds like a complicated calculation for the specific mission involving the patient’s weight, crew weight, amount of fuel needed, and altitude involved.
“Helicopters are very weight sensitive,” he said. “So, when we get a call, a lot of this happens within 90 seconds and we are able to do all the math and all the wizardry, approve the flight and get going.”
Should weather or other complications arise, the Casper base may offer its fixed-wing Pilatus PC 12 to help with a transport as well.
He said the helicopter and airplane based in Casper often work in tandem to get a patient to higher level care.
Evanston also is regionally close to Air Methods assets in Idaho that can also be used if the need arises for a tandem effort. Sometimes, its transporting blood to a scene to save a patient.
Resuscitation System
Bornemeier said the company invested into a flight-sized Zoll AutoPulse Resuscitation System that is carried on the helicopter to provide automatic chest compressions if needed.
“We are the only flight service that has that in Wyoming right now,” he said.
In terms of medical insurance, Bornemeier said the company under the federal No Surprise Act which became effective in January 2022 works with both in-network and out-of-network insurance providers on bills.
The company also makes it a point to work with patients without insurance and tailor billing to their financial needs, he said.
Bornemeier said he did not have figures on Air Methods investment in the new base but emphasized the base is about “what is best for the patient.”
“I’ve really had fun working with ground EMS because they realize that a lot of Wyoming EMS are struggling with volunteers and long transport times and budgets,” he said. “This Evanston base is a perfectly placed base because it’s an underserved community and we’re able to do a lot of good.”
For Green, have the helicopter base at the hospital is also a plus because it highlights its commitment to critical care access, a plus when recruiting staff.
“For physicians and nurses, it’s an added benefit that makes practicing in a rural community more appealing,” she said.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
