Identify and communicate potential hazards
- Notify the flight team of obstacles and obstructions: trees, telephone poles, antennas, power lines, debris, signs, livestock, etc.
- Note wind direction, speed and weather.
Preparing the area and patient
- Keep LZ clear from pedestrians and auto traffic (further than 300 ft.).
- Keep rescue apparatus back 100 ft.
- Always establish landing and take-off direction into the wind.
- Ensure approach and departure path are free of obstacles.
- Take note of what is in the route between the patient and the landing zone.
- Turn on light source when aircraft is five minutes from arrival.
- Approaching the helicopter
- Make eye-contact with the pilot.
- Never go near the tail rotor - running or not. Always walk around the front.
- Never approach the helicopter while the blades are turning, unless you are escorted by a crew member.
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Criteria for transfer
- Glascow coma scale of <14 or deterioration of score.
- Penetrating trauma.
- Spinal cord injury.
- Major chest wall injury.
- Wide mediastinum / signs of great vessel injury.
- Cardiac problems.
- Pelvic injury including pelvic ring disruption or fractures with shock.
- Multiple system injury.
- Burns covering more than 10% of body surface, in critical areas or in patients <10 and >50 yrs. old.
- Electrical burns / lightening injury.
- Complicated pre-existing medical conditions with new onset.
- Limb reattachment.
- High risk OB.
- New onset stroke-like symptoms.
- Time-critical conditions.
- Significant mechanism of injury.
- Multiple victim potential.
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