Wellstar AirCare

Our services

Through our partnership with Metro Aviation and Gold Cross EMS, our dedicated Wellstar AirCare helicopter services expand our reach throughout the region and beyond. We promote rapid and safe patient transport, including service to more that 65 counties in Georgia and South Carolina.

Each aircraft has a pilot and two highly trained critical care professionals. Wellstar AirCare responds to both interfacility and scene transports for all patient populations. Our in-house dispatch team coordinates our aircraft with local emergency services to enable us to respond to the scene of medical emergencies. This is how we ensure rapid access to expert critical care.

Wellstar, affiliated with Medical College of Georgia, clinical crews make a significant difference in a patient's treatment journey. Our dedicated care teams are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week when emergency transport is needed for specialized, advanced care at:

• The region’s only Adult Level I Trauma Center at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center
• The only Pediatric Level II Trauma Center in the CSRA at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia
• Level I Emergency Cardiac Care Center at Wellstar MCG Health
• Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center at Wellstar MCG Health
• Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Wellstar Children’s, the highest level achievable
• Level I Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Wellstar Children’s, the only PICU outside Atlanta
• Regional Perinatal Center at Wellstar MCG Health for high-risk maternal and neonatal care

Advanced capabilities

Our aircraft has a large medical space that allows for increased patient access while in flight. It also features clamshell doors and a Stryker stretcher system that assists in the ease of loading and offloading patients. The aircraft houses the following lifesaving technology and materials:

• Zoll X Series monitor with non-invasive hemoglobin monitoring
• C-MAC video laryngoscopy
• Hamilton T1 ventilator with high flow nasal cannula with heated and humidified oxygen
• Aerogen vibrating mesh nebulizer
• Lumify point-of-care ultrasound
• i-Stat point-of-care lab testing
• Whole blood
• Sapphire volumetric IV pumps
• Maquet Cardiosave hybrid intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP)
• White Phosphor night vision goggles worn by all crew members
• Abiomed Impella heart pump
• Isolette transports, a mobile neonatal intensive care unit system
• Nitric oxide ventilation

Medical teams for all

We are committed to providing exceptional AirCare to every person, every time. Our medical teams are trained specifically for adult, pediatric and neonatal patients.

All clinical crew members hold a board-certified specialty certification for in-flight medicine or emergency critical care. When our aircraft dispatches, the team providing care includes:

• One flight paramedic with over five years of high-volume EMS/CCT transports
• One flight nurse with at least three to five years of ER/ICU experience, specialized in their field

We understand that pediatric and neonatal patients often require a different type of care. Wellstar AirCare and Wellstar Children's Hospital of Georgia are part of the same health system, which means we can meet the unique healthcare needs of our smallest critically ill or injured patients. Our team of trained pediatric and neonatal care specialists includes:

• One pediatric/neonatal specialty respiratory therapist
• One flight nurse with pediatric or neonatal specialty

Dispatch protocol

Wellstar AirCare is available for any 911 emergency scene response or scene stand-by. Our team coordinates directly with emergency management agencies, first responders and hospitals when Wellstar AirCare services are needed.

We also offer inter-facility transfer requests to transport critical patients from referring facilities to a specialized care facility. The transfer center arranges transport as appropriate.

Air and ground standbys can be requested and performed upon request emergency management agencies.

Rapid access to lifesaving care

Our twin engine aircraft with single-pilot IFR capabilities has a cruise speed of 150 mph and a range of 350 miles without refueling. This enables us to transport our patients as quickly and as safely as possible.