Jacksonville, Fla. – Shands Jacksonville is proud to introduce the newest member of the TraumaOne Team. The EC135 will replace the BK117 helicopter that now resides in Lake City.
The EC135 is faster than our old helicopter, which speeds up our ability to respond and deliver patients to the hospital. The weather radar, radios, and pilot instrumentation are the latest, which adds a safety feature to the aircraft. As a brand new aircraft, there will be less maintenance needed, so there will be more consistency and fewer times in a back up helicopter.
TraumaOne Education Coordinator, Wayne Hodges, RN, EMT-P says, “Our flight crews are excited to be a part of the cutting edge of EMS aviation.”
The new TraumaOne helicopter has already been on display, making a special appearance at the Air Medical Transport Conference in Reno, Nevada earlier this month. It gave flight crews across the nation an opportunity to see the helicopter up close.
Shands Jacksonville has two helicopters used to airlift trauma and critically ill patients.