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Fla. EMS chief: No need for town helicopter

Buying aircraft for $7 million and paying $400,000 a year to operate it makes no sense when county has TraumaHawks available, town staffer tells Medical Care Commission.

By DAVID ROGERS
Daily News

A consultant to Good Samaritan Medical Center suggested last week that the town of Palm Beach might ponder getting its own helicopter service if residents want especially rapid transport to regional hospitals. And University of Miami officials told the Medical Care Commission this fall that medical flights might be one way to improve care.

The town’s Emergency Medical Services division chief, Brian Fuller, however, advised the board against such a move Tuesday.

Helicopters are helpful for emergency cases that occur in rural areas where hospital care is more than 35 minutes away, or for severe trauma cases, he said. ...

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