North Shore-LIJ Launch Helicopter Emergency Service

MANHASSET, N.Y. — The North Shore-LIJ Health System has launched the New York area’s first hospital-to-hospital helicopter emergency medical service, a program called SkyHealth.

The new capability will help cut travel time between the health system’s hospitals, which stretch as far west as Westchester County and as far east as Bay Shore in Suffolk County. The helicopters are able to fly at an average speed of 130 miles per hour. A helicopter flight from Southside Hospital in Bay Shore to NSUH in Manhasset, for example, is about 10 to 15 minutes, whereas an ambulance could take 40 minutes or more.

The program is a partnership with Yale-New Haven Health in Connecticut. For the past two weeks, patients of the health system have been able to receive emergency care by helicopter if they’re experiencing major traumas such as a heart attack, stroke or other life-threatening brain injuries. North Shore-LIJ spent $7 million on the helicopter and $6.5 million to build a rooftop helipad at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), a level I trauma center.

“This helicopter could mean the difference between life and death for critically ill and trauma patients,” said Michael Dowling, North Shore-LIJ’s president and CEO, in a statement. “The helicopter enables us to avoid congested highways and provide the fastest hospital-to-hospital transfers for our most vulnerable patients.”

NSUH’s new rooftop helipad, which will be completed this month, was designed to allow for quicker and safer landings for patients requiring medevac transport. The Nassau County Police Aviation Bureau has provided input on the design and safety of the helipad for the past two years, and the helipad will become a trauma center destination for the county’s medevac helicopters. The helipad sits 23 feet above the hospital’s roof and is also available to Suffolk County and New York City police departments, as well as to other hospitals that want to transport critically ill patients.
The medical flight team consists of a paramedic and nurse with training in emergency medicine or critical care. These team members are also dual-credentialed in New York and and Connecticut.
“The SkyHealth helicopter is outfitted with highly sophisticated critical care technology, including mechanical ventilators, cardiac monitors, infant incubators and other life-saving equipment normally found in a hospital intensive care unit,” said Gene Tangney, North Shore-LIJ’s senior vice president and chief administrative officer, in a statement.
Dallas-based Med-Trans Corporation maintains and operates the helicopter, trains pilots and handles medical billing. The SkyHealth program is managed by the North Shore-LIJ Center for EMS, and in the first year of the program, the health system expects to serve roughly 350 to 400 patients.
North Shore-LIJ has been trying to expand its trauma capabilities, and the helicopter program is a key part of that. Hospitals within the health system have been aiming to stand out as leading emergency providers. In addition to NSUH, Southside Hospital recently became the first hospital in the state verified by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) as a Level II trauma center. Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park is seeking Level I pediatric trauma verification from the ACS. Huntington Hospital and Staten Island University Hospital are also seeking trauma designations.