Campbell River91裸聊视频檚 Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical (TEAAM) base is up and running, with crews ready to respond quickly to emergencies in hard-to-reach places on Vancouver Island and the North Coast.

91裸聊视频淲hat we do is different than search and rescue and different than ambulance,91裸聊视频� said Miles Randell, president of TEAAM Aeromedical. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 called 91裸聊视频榤edically directed rescue.91裸聊视频� We marry the level of medical care with the ability to rescue someone.

91裸聊视频淎n example I91裸聊视频檒l give is that we can fly out, lower someone down on a long line, and if it91裸聊视频檚 a rolled over logging truck, not only can we provide advanced life support and critical medical care, but we can also provide the auto extrication,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲e can cut the person out of that vehicle with the Jaws of Life. Then we can bring them up into the aircraft to fly direct to the most appropriate hospital.91裸聊视频�

The placement in Campbell River means that TEAAM can make good use of their two-hour-and-20-minute flight time before refuelling. At a speed of about 175 km/h, that puts the range of helicopters at around 400 km in any direction. Randell said their response time is about 91裸聊视频渁 tenth of the time frame that it would take an ambulance to get someone out of those situations.91裸聊视频�

While the model is seen elsewhere in the world, Randell said there isn91裸聊视频檛 much like it in North America.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 quite a bit different than anything that91裸聊视频檚 been done in Canada previously. In Switzerland they started doing this about 54 years ago. Australia and New Zealand are similar,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲here we are now (at a conference in) Austin, Texas, there91裸聊视频檚 a service that does a similar thing that includes firefighting. It91裸聊视频檚 one of only a couple in the US that does something similar. It91裸聊视频檚 very different from what91裸聊视频檚 been provided in Canada previously.91裸聊视频�

The base launched on August 10. TEAAM held an open house at the Campbell River Airport, which was attended by supporters like the Truck Loggers Association, Interfor, Western Forest Products, as well as Vancouver Island Helicopters, 49 North and others. Those partners helped with fundraising to get the equipment TEAAM needed for the launch.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a long process, most of it was fundraising to make sure we had the equipment to launch the base. We did pretty well with human resources. What we do is so very different, interesting and exciting,91裸聊视频� Randell said. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e got some incredible folks that work with us now in the Campbell River area. It took about a year for us to get enough funding to launch the Medevac capability. We91裸聊视频檙e still fundraising to be able to add the rescue capability to it.91裸聊视频�

While as of Aug. 18 there hasn91裸聊视频檛 been any deployments of the service, TEAAM did do one mission before the official launch.

91裸聊视频淲e had one previous deployment before we launched the base,91裸聊视频� Randell said. 91裸聊视频淲e went and picked up a patient with a respiratory condition. We looked at launching that out of Squamish, but the weather was bad.

91裸聊视频淚t was equidistant between the Squamish base and the Campbell River base. We were able to put something together at the drop of the hat with some dedicated team members who jumped into a helicopter91裸聊视频� and made it happen.91裸聊视频�

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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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