Welcome!

Welcome to the Minnesota Air Medical Council website!

Here you will find helpful information about our mission, valuable safety information, Member organizations, and the air medical industry.

The MNAMC is organized and dedicated to discussion, research, support, and collaboration on issues and topics of mutual interest in air medical transport with an emphasis on operational safety, quality clinical care, and other areas of interest.

MNAMC Members; Life Link III, Mayo Clinic Medical Transport, and Sanford AirMed; are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS). CAMTS is a peer-review organization dedicated to improving patient care and transport safety by providing a dynamic accreditation process through the development of standards, education and services that support our vision.

MNAMC Member; North Memorial Air Care is accredited by the National Accreditation Alliance Medical Transport Applications (NAAMTA). NAAMTA is a new accreditation standard bearer for the medical transport industry, offering procedures that include guidelines for developing a quality management system focusing on transport safety, patient care, and continuous improvement.

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September 21, 2012

Helipad Information

The Members of the Minnesota Air Medical Council invite and encourage city leaders, hospital personnel, and emergency responders to access the valuable resources posted on the lefthand side of the web page titled "MNDOT Hospital Helipad Resources."

In this section, you'll find materials on the structure, dimensions, and requirements for helipads.

For additional assistance, please contact MNDOT Aeronautics or your nearest flight program.

Videos Added
Also on the left side of the page, a new 4-part video titled "The Dangers Of Helicopter Shopping" is made available and suitable for all audiences. 

Winter Helipad Care
Winter is coming!  During this time of year, with the ever-changing weather conditions, snow and ice can become a safety liability to your institution. This would include driveways, sidewalks and parking lots open to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

One area that can be easily overlooked is your hospital helipad. The helipad should be as clean and dry a surface as you would keep the sidewalks at your hospital. With this in mind, we would like to offer some suggestions and recommendations.

1. Advise the communications center of your helipad surface condition. (i.e., clean and dry, covered by snow or ice, new obstructions, construction, etc.)

2. Do not pile snow on the helipad perimeter. The snow should be pushed off the pad at least 5 feet from the perimeter and no higher than 10 inches. (Some helicopter tail rotors are only 2 feet above the ground.)

3. Do not use salt or sand on your helipad. The helicopters downdraft (“rotor wash”) will blow the salt or sand around and can cause harm to persons or damage facilities. Salt is also very corrosive to the aircraft and sand is both abrasive and easily ingested into the engines.

There are various Federal Aviation Administration approved products that are an alternative to sodium
chloride and sand.





4. As warmer weather and the spring season approach, remove any residual materials from the helipad by sweeping and/or washing the surface.

The Minnesota Air Medical Council does not endorse any one product. However, we encourage you to contact your local air medical program as listed below for further information.

June 25, 2012

Safety Training: Are You Current?

Now is a great time to check your records to ensure that your personnel have had initial and recurrent helipad or landing zone training.

Each Member flight program is happy to assist you and your organization in providing training for your organization.  Training is designed for anyone who has the responsibility to set up and secure a landing zone (LZ) or ensure that a helipad is secure.

MNAMC Member programs recommend initial training for newly hired personnel, as well as annual recurrent training.

Contact your nearest flight program for additional details and see the NEMSPA Helipad Safety Video link on this page.

Planning a construction project?

Summer is construction season - We can use your help! 

If your health care facility has a helipad and is planning construction projects, be sure to inform your nearest flight program.

Loose construction materials and other obstructions (like cranes) can be a hazard.  All MNAMC Member programs report known hazards to each other so that our flight crews can conduct a safe flight. 

At times, we may need to divert to an alternate landing zone.  Planning in advance is essential to prevent delays in transport.

Contact your nearest flight program for additional assistance.

February 27, 2012

Safety Enhanced With Use of Weather Turndown Website

Weather Turndown is a service provided by AirMed International, designed to foster open communication between air medical programs, being a valuable online data collection system for flight programs across the United States.  From a regional perspective, Life Link III and the other members of the Minnesota Air Medical Council are working together to optimize the use of the system to enhance flight safety.  

During the flight planning process, Weather Turndown can be accessed by pilots to supplement their weather information to make a “go/no-go” decision based on data entered from other flight programs.  For instance, when a pilot from another program declines a flight due to icing, other pilots can safely assume that icing is present based on the other pilot’s observation.  In a sense, pilots can collaborate indirectly to help avoid unintended encounters with unsafe flight conditions.

In January 2012, the voting Members of the Minnesota Air Medical Council heard a proposal made by Ed Eroe, CEO of Life Link III, to form an ad hoc work group made up of Member flight program representatives.  This group is currently working together to standardize useful  information required by end users (Pilots and Communications Specialists) and ensure that consistent, valuable information is applied by all organizations.  Members designated at least two participants, including representatives in flight operations and communications.

We are excited to also have member programs from Wisconsin participate in the work group, which is a tribute to the dedication and commitment between the two Councils. 

January 5, 2012

Winter Helipad Care

During this time of year, with the ever-changing weather conditions, snow and ice can become a safety liability to your institution. This would include driveways, sidewalks and parking lots open to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

One area that can be easily overlooked is your hospital helipad. The helipad should be as clean and dry a surface as you would keep the sidewalks at your hospital. With this in mind, we would like to offer some suggestions and recommendations.

1.         Advise the communications center of your helipad surface condition. (i.e., clean and dry, covered by snow or ice, new obstructions, construction, etc.)

2.         Do not pile snow on the helipad perimeter.  The snow should be pushed off the pad at least 5 feet from the perimeter and no higher than 10 inches.  (Some helicopter tail rotors are only 2 feet above the ground.)

3.                  Do not use salt or sand on your helipad.  The helicopters downdraft (“rotor wash”) will blow the salt or sand around and can cause harm to persons or damage facilities. Salt is also very corrosive to the aircraft and sand is both abrasive and easily ingested into the engines.

There are various Federal Aviation Administration approved products that are an alternative to sodium
chloride and sand. 


                http://www.hjefertilizer.com/IceMelters/ZeroIcePro/  (Zero Ice Ultra)

                http://www.cryotech.com/products/runway.php


4.         As warmer weather and the spring season approach, remove any residual materials from the helipad by sweeping and/or washing the surface.



The Minnesota Air Medical Council does not endorse any one product. However, we encourage you to contact your local air medical program as listed below for further information.


Sincerely,

The Minnesota Air Medical Council