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By SARAH JIMENEZ
Fresno Bee (California)
Air ambulance service out of Hanford is returning to the area Monday, providing service to trauma calls in Kings and Tulare counties for the next five months.
SkyLife Air Ambulance will station a helicopter at the Hanford Municipal Airport from May 1 through Sept. 30. The Kings County Board of Supervisors approved the agreement in March.
This is the second year an air ambulance has been stationed at the Hanford airport. A helicopter was stationed there last year from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend during a trial period.
Historically, summer is the peak season of trauma calls for the Central Valley, said SkyLife program director Lisa Epps.
Call volume in the winter is lower and air ambulances are frequently unable to respond in winter months because of fog, Epps said.
SkyLife primarily serves Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties with a helicopter stationed at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. SkyLife is a partnership between Rogers Helicopters and American Ambulance and has served the Central Valley since 1991.
Epps said the Hanford-based helicopter responded to about 100 calls during last year’s three-month trial period. Most were vehicle accidents. Others included calls to transfer patients between medical centers and for water-related accidents.
When a helicopter isn’t stationed in Hanford, air ambulances in Fresno or Bakersfield must respond to calls in Kings and Tulare counties. Epps said having a helicopter in Kings County saves at least 15 minutes in transportation time for Hanford-area calls and more time for outlying Kings and Tulare county areas.
Kings County Fire Chief Jim Kilner said the department saw “outstanding” response times by the air ambulance last year.
He recalled a fatal accident last year at 14th and Iona avenues, west of Hanford, where the helicopter was hovering above as law enforcement and emergency services on the ground pulled up to the scene. The helicopter was able to transport a second major-injury victim to University Medical Center in Fresno.
“Everybody was there that needed to be there,” he said.
Kilner said the helicopter improved the “golden hour” for victims. That’s the hour after an accident during which patients have the best chance of surviving if they get to a medical center.
The helicopter also provided an additional resource when aircraft in Fresno and Bakersfield were unavailable for calls in Fresno, Madera or Kern counties, said Daniel Lynch, administrator for Central California Emergency Medical Services Agency.
“It’s a very, very successful operation,” Lynch said. “The closer the helicopter is to a patient that needs to get to a trauma center, the better.”
Kings County Supervisor Tony Oliveira said the board supports stationing a helicopter in the area for as long as possible each year.
The county doesn’t incur any cost from the service. Air ambulance companies collect their charges from patients’ insurance and emergency medical service bills.
“Our position is any kind of time we can get it here, we’re after that,” he said.