REMSA Health announced the arrival of a new Care Flight helicopter to service emergency medical needs out of its Gardnerville, Nevada base at the Carson Valley Health Hospital. The new helicopter, which services hospitals and emergency medical needs in rural areas, is one of a fleet of four helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft. 

The Care Flight 2, an Airbus H125 B3E, incorporates new technology which allows for improved GPS navigation, particularly in hard-to-reach areas across Lake Tahoe and northern and central Nevada.

It was also specifically designed to navigate high altitudes, alpine environments and extreme temperatures, features which are key to operating in such a challenging region. The design allows Care Flight to respond to calls that other small aircraft in the region might not be able to.

Serving a “recreational hot-zone”

In addition to patient transport, the new member of the fleet is key in performing local search and assists, and pick-ups from remote areas. “This is a recreational hot-zone for a lot of people,” said Jake Beck, operations manager for Care Flight. “Some of that access is pretty remote.” 

The crew sees a lot of sports-related accidents, which often take place in areas that are difficult to reach immediately by vehicles. 

Beck says the service’s sole responder status also allows them to access rural areas where they might otherwise need a first responder to land the flight. “We can land ourselves,” he said. The ability to do that sometimes saves hours of waiting in critical situations. 

Critical emergency transport for region

The fleet is staffed by paramedics and other medical professionals, who are deployed sometimes multiple times in a day. The helicopter based in Gardnerville alone handles 450-500 transports per year, said Beck. 

Those transports are often to take patients to hospitals outside of their immediate regions, where they may need urgent and more specialized healthcare than they can receive in the basin. 

In total, Care Flight’s fleet, which has been operating in the region for over 40 years, transports roughly 1,800 patients per year, across an area of more than 50,000 square miles.