Re: CAMTS accreditations

[mee <mikey49@concentric.net>]

About a year ago I helped get a fixed wing program I worked for, CAMTS 
certified. During this process we went to several Air medical 
conferences. Many opportunities were said to be available to us once we 
were certified. Unfortunately a change in ownership occurred and the 
certification was not included in the change. So I cannot say whether 
these doors would have actually opened for us.
That having been said I would like to ask, who do you serve, your 
accountant or your patients? Why does the US have air medical crash 
rates (rotor) above 13 per 100,000 hrs flown? (not even close to the 
rate in Europe or Canada).

   While I was involved in the CAMTS process I realized safety 
preparedness was the thrust of  most of the regulations.  Recurring 
education and training cost money. Being sure every thing you use has a 
back up supply and a plan costs money.  It also requires commitment on 
the part of pilots, medical crew and most of all management.

   These are a few of the changes we made a result of CAMTS preparation.

   I have a 100% backup supply of oxygen on board that is completely 
separate from the primary system. The Ohemeda outlet could fail and dump 
the entire volume of my "m" cylinder half way back from Hawaii and My 
patient would still be safe.

   The medical crew I fly with know how hard you must pull to remove 
the emergency escape window or the raft release tether to get them to 
function.

   The medical crew know how to shut off fuel flow to the engines. How 
to turn off the main battery switches. How to activate the engine fire 
extinguishers. I know rhe med crews are not pilots but if the pilot is 
disabled these could be valuable skills.

   We added a fire extinguisher that is clearly visible to the medical 
crew in the cabin and easily reached.

   With our vented patients we carry adapters for most common "oxygen" 
and "air" wall outlets along with ETCO2 monitor (reads in mm Hg) . We 
obtain a blood gas prior to transport to verify the effect of vent 
settings on the patient  and to have a baseline pCO2 comparison to ETCO2.

This list could go on for several pages and I know we cannot operate at 
a financial loss. But ask your self and your company, What did you do 
for safety today? This week?

CAMTS certification will help you find the areas where your program can 
improve safety for your patient and your crew.

Stogsdill, Dave wrote:

> Looking for opinions about the value of CAMTS accreditations ? Our program is divided over the value of becoming CAMTS accredited. We were in the accredition process several years ago, but after much thought and meetings, we decided not to follow through. Hopefully there is a lot of opinions out
> there, both pro and con, that will help us have a better understanding. Especially interested in programs that are currently accredited. Those that decided against it, and those that may have been accredited, but then did not reapply or let there accreditation lapse.(Why?)
>
>
> Thanks !!!
>
> David Stogsdill
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