The fifth air ambulance in Korea hits the field following launching ceremony on January 27th
Dankook University Hospital is starting operations of a ‘Doctor Helicopter’ emergency air ambulance service. The air ambulance will be assigned to remote areas using a system where doctors board the helicopter within 5 minutes of calls. The service is being provided by South Chungcheong Province and Dankook University Hospital, supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The launching ceremony was held at the 5th floor auditorium and rooftop of the hospital building at 1pm on January 27th. Members of the local community joined to celebrate the start of services and shared hopes for its safe operations.
Doctor Helicopter is a cutting-edge emergency medical system consisting of various emergency medical equipment and carrying an emergency medicine physician and nurse (Level-1 emergency medical technician) to provide immediate emergency treatment to patients upon arriving at scenes until they are moved to an emergency medical institute.
The South Chungcheong Province Doctor Helicopter is the 5th of its kind in Korea and will be positioned at Dankook University Hospital which has an emergency medical center and trauma center, as well as a helipad and tarmac to start official operations on January 28th.
With Doctor Helicopter, Dankook University Hospital will be able to build a quick transport system for severe emergency patients in areas hard to reach, looking forward to reducing the death rate of patients suffering from the top 3 emergency symptoms; severe trauma, myocardial infarction (MI) and cerebrovascular diseases. In particular, the time needed to transport emergency patients from islands along the Western Sea is expected to be shortened significantly. For example, compared to the 4 hours it previously took from Oeyeondo Island in Boryeong (direct distance 120km) to Dankook University Hospital by sea and land, Doctor Helicopter will shorten the trip to 60 minutes.