Life Flight Is First Rotor Wing Ambulance Service in the State to Earn CAMTS Accreditation

Jacksonville, Florida, October 24, 2006 -- Life Flight, Baptist Health's air ambulance service, was the first rotor wing ambulance service in the State of Florida to receive accreditation by the Commission on the Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS). The voluntary accreditation, which is for three years, is the result of a site visit and a thorough review by CAMTS of documentation for all aspects of the program, including education, safety, patient care, the quality assurance process, aircraft maintenance schedules, and other guidelines.

"This accreditation is the result of a great deal of preparation and skill on the part of the Life Flight crew and staff," says Richard Stromberg, MD, medical director of Life Flight and chief of Emergency Medicine at Baptist Medical Center Downtown. "We are proud of this accomplishment."

"CAMTS accreditation is highly regarded in the air medical industry," says Brad Elias, MD, Life Flight's associate medical director of Operations. "This represents the hard work of the entire Life Flight staff, crew members, pilots, mechanics, leadership and medical directors. I am proud to be associated with this medical transport program dedicated to excellence and quality patient care."

Jacksonville's first emergency air ambulance, Life Flight was dedicated in 1980 to provide rapid air transport of critically ill and injured patients under the safest possible conditions. Using a two-engine helicopter, Life Flight is outfitted as a self-contained critical care unit with equipment for advanced life support and offers medical treatment of the whole spectrum of emergency conditions.

The helicopter is available 24 hours a day for patients within a 150-mile radius of Baptist Medical Center Downtown. The flight crew is comprised of a flight nurse and paramedic who have years of critical care, pre-hospital and emergency medicine experience.