Medevac

Residents living near Hagerstown's Municipal Stadium may hear the sounds of helicopter rotors off and on for the next few days. Dispatchers at Washington County Fire and Rescue Communications said that through Saturday, Maryland State Police medevac helicopters will land at the stadium instead of at Washington County Hospital. The temporary change is because of repairs at the helipad on top of the hospital's west wing, said Ruth Gallion, the hospital's patient care manager.

15 minutes or less: Time it takes for a helicopter to be anywhere in Maryland after takeoff. Average flight time is 11 minutes. 6,000: Estimated number of medevac missions completed last year by the Maryland State Police. 1,500: Approximate number of law enforcement/search and rescue missions completed in fiscal year 2007. $110 million: Amount earmarked for upgrading or replacing state police helicopters over the next four years including $33.6 million in fiscal year 2009.

FREDERICK, Md. - The victims of two separate auto accidents Saturday evening in Frederick were flown to Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown by Maryland State Police medevac helicopters. A 17-year-old Myersville, Md., girl was injured when her car struck a large tree off U.S. 40 near Gambrill Park Road at 7:19 p.m. Maryland State Police said Sherrie Anne Jeans was westbound in a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier when, for unknown reasons, her car crossed the center line and ran off the left side of the road.

Workers sacrifice to keep jobs Medevac privatization could cost patients thousands Kevin L. McCoy Jr., 29 Flower & Garden Show cure for cabin fever Police briefs

Police ID driver in fatal Fairgrounds Park accident I-81 crash in W.Va. injures two Seasoning rubs an easy way to flavor a turkey Air Methods Maryland won't have much impact on use of MSP medevac helicopters Congestion on I-70, I-81

SANDY HOOK - A Washington County man died at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda Tuesday night from injuries sustained when his Chevrolet Blazer ran off Valley Road and hit a tree, Maryland State Police said. Police identified the man as David Milton Burriss Jr., 22, of 4107 Rohrersville Road, Rohrersville. Troopers 1st Class Doug Bittinger and John Sexton investigated the 5:30 p.m. accident. No one else was in the vehicle at the time of the accident, police said. The driver was flown to the Suburban from the crash scene by state police medevac helicopter.

The Maryland State Police Aviation Command grounded all aircraft Monday after a weekend medical helicopter crash that killed four people, according to a news release. Both public and private groups were working with SYSCOM in Baltimore, from where the medical helicopters are dispatched, to respond to medical transport needs in Maryland, said Dr. Robert Bass, the executive director of the Maryland Institute for EMS Systems. The United States Park Police, Delaware State Police, Pennsylvania State Police and commercial medevac companies were covering the state's helicopter needs, Bass said.

The Maryland State Police (MSP) Aviation Command's helicopter program is a state-wide multi-mission service performed by troopers and civilian employees working for the citizens of Maryland. The medevac mission has made the program a worldwide model and has supported the state's EMS program (also a world-wide model) since its inception in 1970. However, other missions performed by the MSP helicopter program (search and rescue, law enforcement, homeland security) are just as important, as was recently illustrated by the rescue basket hoisting of a mother and daughter from a car flooded by raging waters in Bethesda.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Franklin County Progressive Agriculture Safety Day was recently held at the Chambersburg Rod and Gun Club, where local students spent the day learning about safety in the home and on the farm. Two-hundred youths stopped at 12 safety stations throughout the day, learning about fire, hand tool, pool/swimming, grain bin/PTO, ATV, bicycle and road safety as well as oral care and drug awareness. In addition, participants experienced a staged tractor roll-over rescue demonstration complete with MedEvac helicopter.

Vehicle registration fee to increase ANNAPOLIS - The cost of registering a car in Maryland will increase from $70 to $76. The Maryland Senate voted 39-5 Wednesday to increase the two-year registration to shore up the state's financially ailing emergency medical system. continued Sen. Alex X. Mooney was the only local lawmaker to vote against the fee increase, which takes effect July 1. "In a time of budget surpluses we shouldn't be taxing our citizens," said Mooney, R-Frederick/Washington.

Cub Scout Pack 34 and two members of Troop 412 toured Life Net Medevac at Ryder Jet Center at the Hagerstown Regional Airport on Sept. 27. The boys got a special wave from the aircraft as it was departing for a training class in Shippensburg, Pa. Pack 34 and Troop 412 want to thank the crew for taking the time to teach them about their occupation and aircraft.

A blown tire triggered the crash of a tanker truck carrying liquid fertilizer Friday afternoon, injuring the Washington County driver and closing westbound Interstate 70 near Hancock for several hours, Maryland State Police said. Wayne Larry Bartles, of Mason Dixon Road north of Hagerstown, was flown by medevac helicopter to Meritus Medical Center to be treated for his injuries, according to a state police news release. Bartles was listed in good condition Friday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police ID driver in fatal Fairgrounds Park accident I-81 crash in W.Va. injures two Seasoning rubs an easy way to flavor a turkey Air Methods Maryland won't have much impact on use of MSP medevac helicopters Congestion on I-70, I-81

HAGERSTOWN -- The presence of a new air medical transport company in Hagerstown won't have a major impact on use of Maryland State Police medevac helicopters at accident scenes, according to Dr. Robert Bass, executive director of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS). There is, however, an operational agreement between emergency services in Maryland and Air Methods Maryland to assist state police medical air transport on 911 calls when needed, Bass said.

TRI-STATE -- STAT MedEvac will end its Hagerstown-based operations Monday, affecting the availability of helicopters to transport patients in medical emergencies, a company spokesman said. STAT MedEvac officials said requests for services have decreased as local hospitals improve technology and services. "The need for air medical transports to larger, tertiary care hospitals has decreased as a result," spokesman Daniel Nakles wrote in an e-mail. The service has been based at Hagerstown Regional Airport since 2005, Nakles said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Franklin County Progressive Agriculture Safety Day was recently held at the Chambersburg Rod and Gun Club, where local students spent the day learning about safety in the home and on the farm. Two-hundred youths stopped at 12 safety stations throughout the day, learning about fire, hand tool, pool/swimming, grain bin/PTO, ATV, bicycle and road safety as well as oral care and drug awareness. In addition, participants experienced a staged tractor roll-over rescue demonstration complete with MedEvac helicopter.

ANNAPOLIS (AP) -- The Maryland Senate decided Tuesday not to support a one-year delay in buying new medevac helicopters intended to give lawmakers time to study the procurement process. Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee approved $52.5 million in the capital budget to buy the first three helicopters to begin replacing the aging fleet. The capital budget is scheduled to reach the full House of Delegates on Wednesday. The state currently uses 11 helicopters purchased between 1989 and 1999.

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ANNAPOLIS -- Several Washington County Hospital patients have been transferred to other hospitals by helicopter thinking it was a free service provided by Maryland State Police, only to later get a bill for $8,000 or $9,000, Del. John P. Donoghue said. That is the type of sticker shock Donoghue says patients will receive if state lawmakers are successful in their push to privatize the state's medevac services. Bills sponsored by state Sens. John Astle, D-Anne Arundel, and E.J. Pipkin, R-Caroline/Cecil/Kent/Queen Anne's, would separate Maryland's police helicopter fleet into separate medical and law enforcement operations and allow Gov. Martin O'Malley to consider bids from private companies to provide medevac services.

The Maryland State Police (MSP) Aviation Command's helicopter program is a state-wide multi-mission service performed by troopers and civilian employees working for the citizens of Maryland. The medevac mission has made the program a worldwide model and has supported the state's EMS program (also a world-wide model) since its inception in 1970. However, other missions performed by the MSP helicopter program (search and rescue, law enforcement, homeland security) are just as important, as was recently illustrated by the rescue basket hoisting of a mother and daughter from a car flooded by raging waters in Bethesda.