EDITORIAL STAFF

Howard M. Collett Editor and Publisher

S. Barney Green Contributing Editor

Tammy Hermann Circulation Manager

EDITORIAL BOARD

Dennis Brimhall University of California

Medical Center San Francisco, CA

Burton Harris, MD International Society

of Aeromedical Services Boston, MA

Jane Miller, RN Care Flight Reno, NV

John Sonneveld Tyabb, Victoria

Australia

Frank Thomas, MD Life Flight, LDS Hospital

Salt Lake City, UT

SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Robert F. Lash, MD LifeStar

Knoxville, TN

Roy Morgan Air Methods, Inc. Englewood, CO

Noel Preston Aviation Consulting Incorporated

Manhassett, NY

Russ Spray Rocky Mountain Helicopters

Provo, UT

An Editorial Opinion

Beauty More Than Skin Deep by Howard M. Coflett

Ten years ago when I became involved in the air medical business working for a helicopter operator, I quickly learned one thing: beauty is only skin deep. At that t ime , h o s p i t a l s were choos ing Long- Rangers over Alouettes for thei r pat ient t ranspor t needs. Granted, even the old "L" model was much faster than an Alouette, but it simply lacked the power. My con- clusion was tha t the sleek craft appealed m o r e to s o m e p h y s i c i a n s a n d ad - minis t ra tors than the ro tund Alouette.

As I became more familiar with hospi- tal helicopters, I learned another thing: cleanliness is next to godliness. Aside from the clinical benefit of a clean ship, I saw f i r s t - t ime observers of an air medical operat ion judging the flying machine more on a crisp paint job with no soot on the tail than the thousands of dollars of lifesaving equipment on board. I t seems tha t some things don ' t change even among sophisti- cated program directors the way a few of them choose thei r helicopter model today.

But today the industry is beginning to focus more on what goes in a ship as well as whethe~ it flies the school colors. Star t- ing on page 5, this issue looks at helicop- t e r c o n f i g u r a t i o n . W e f i n d m o r e safety-related items, and components tha t make a pilot 's mult iple tasks more effi- cient or less cumbersome. We also find a mini- industry dedicated to configuration of air medical helicopters and airplanes.

Our contr ibut ing editor Barney Green looks at one of t he m o r e i nnova t ive programs in terms of helicopter configura- t ion. His prof i le of t he Univers i ty of Tennessee 's LifeStar program begins on page 14. The feature points out some of the things our configuration survey didn ' t - the use of new clinical devices emerging as our industry turns sixteen years old.

While on the subject of new and innova- tive, let me ment ion our advertisers. This issue sports ads for three new advertisers offering new medical timed-wing services, and two of our long-time advertisers with ads promot ing thei r completions centers. Remaining ads include manufacturers of_ fer ing their latest ref inements in air medi- cal craft, and vendors offering accessories and support to keep us flying safely.

All of this "new and improved" is much more than a marke t ing ploy. The new and improved products being introduced to the air medical industry do, in fact, offer ex- panded capabilit ies and amenit ies than previously available. There are larger and

m o r e power fu l he l i cop te r s , expanded long-range t ranspor t programs, and more s t a n d a r d i z e d and t e s t ed comple t ions . Allow me to expand on each for a moment.

To the unini t ia ted (those who never leave thei r calculators), larger and more powerful helicopters mean only more cost. To those who fly crit ically-injured patients day in and day out, larger means the ability to carry more sophist icated equipment or a second medical a t tendant and not feel l ike a packaged sardine. I t ' s interest ing to see f irs t- t ime observers of a BK-117 or 365N Dauphin and hear them say, "my, but they ' re small inside!" I t ' s also interest- ing to hear experienced pilots say tha t they can take off from a scene during the sum- mer without being severely l imited by en- gine performance. I t ' s equally instructive to see communicat ions centers revising all their ETAs 2(~o downward because of the new B-1RD Mark 6 on the helipad.

Though airplanes have been t ransport- ing p a t i e n t s yea r s be fo re hel icopters , a i rplane programs in general have lagged beh ind the i r ro ta ry-winged cousins in quality assurance. Aside f rom some four- dozen dedicated hospital-sponsored fixed- wing services, we ' re seeing several new independen t f ixed-wing services sprout wings. They undoubtedly will fill the gap for the majori ty of hospitals who do not have enough long-range t ranspor t volume to justify thei r own dedicated service.

Those who grew up in the air medical industry will swear tha t the te rm "re-in- vent t he wheel" was or ig ina ted by an aircraft completions center who special- ized in medical interiors. Indeed, most of our h i s to ry found every medica l ship c ranked out was significantly different than the one which proceeded it. Th ink of the engineering t ime involved in planning, producing and instal l ing a different or modified inter ior each t ime an operator got a new customer or overhauled the ship for an existing client. Now, with growing emphas is on the STC process, we are beginning to see some s tandardizat ion in oxygen and l i t ter systems and other major components.

The year 1988 marks the beginning of events tha t will shape the future of the air medical industry. For the first time, many people are more concerned with what goes into the ship in terms of quality assurance. Whomever said beauty is only skin deep hadn ' t seen the inside of one of today's air medical aircraft.

HOSPITAL AVIATION, AUGUST 1988 3