AirCare, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s critical-care transport service, has based a new helicopter at Blue Ridge Regional Airport in Henry County, Virginia.
The Airbus H130 T2 aircraft, designated AirCare 3, replaces an older Airbus chopper in providing emergency medical transportation to a service area that covers Henry, Patrick and Pittsylvania counties in Virginia and Stokes and Rockingham counties in North Carolina.
“This new helicopter solidifies our commitment to provide the best critical-care service possible to these communities,” said Susan Bachmeier, director of emergency services at Wake Forest Baptist.
Blue Ridge Regional became AirCare’s third helicopter base in May 2012. Since then more than 1,200 patient flights have been dispatched from the airport, which is located outside Martinsville.
AirCare’s other helicopter bases are Davidson County Airport in Lexington for AirCare 1 and Elkin Municipal Airport in Surry County for AirCare 2.
Established in 1986, AirCare has transported more than 15,000 critically ill and injured patients to Wake Forest Baptist, the only Level I trauma center in the region.
AirCare helicopters feature advanced avionics systems and sophisticated life-support and patient-care equipment. Each crew consists of a pilot, flight nurse and paramedic. The helicopters and pilots are contracted from Air Methods Corp. of Englewood, Colo.
AirCare is part of an EMS network serving North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina. It also operates two critical-care ambulances.
Media Relations
Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487
Eryn Johnson: eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228