HealthNet Aeromedical Services is celebrating the addition of an upgraded EC145e aircraft to serve patients in northern West Virginia. The addition of a new helicopter in Morgantown, West Virginia is another commitment by HealthNet Aeromedical Services and WVU Medicine to improve critical care transport for patients in the region.

“The power, safety features and advanced medical capabilities of this upgraded aircraft will undoubtedly enhance the ability of our flight teams to save lives,” says Clinton Burley, president and CEO of HealthNet.

The EC145e helicopter's large airframe allows the space needed for complex paediatric, bariatric and other transports that require additional medical specialists and equipment on board the aircraft.

“The continued investment in our fleet coupled with ongoing investments in equipment, staff and training allows HealthNet, WVU Medicine and our partner members to extend the expertise of our acute care providers to the far reaches of West Virginia and the surrounding region,” adds chair of the WVU Department of Emergency Medicine Christopher S. Goode.

The WVU Health System board of directors approved the more than $7.5 million investment to replace the current EC145 aircraft that served the HealthNet Aeromedical Services' Morgantown base for over a decade.

“We make a promise to our patients that we will deliver high quality healthcare to them when they walk through the doors of our hospitals and clinics. The same can be said of the care they receive in the air when they are en route to our hospitals,” explains Albert L. Wright Jr, president and CEO of the WVU Health System. “In emergency situations when every minute counts, we need to be sure that level of care starts immediately. With this new HealthNet Aeromedical Services aircraft, we can do that even better than we have in the past.”

The arrival of the new helicopter was celebrated on 4 August with a ribbon-cutting event that included HealthNet Aeromedical Services leadership and team members, Mr. Wright, Dr. Goode, and Gordon Gee, president of WVU and the WVU Health System board of directors.

The new aircraft joins HealthNet Aeromedical Services' current Airbus-exclusive fleet, consisting of two additional EC145s, five EC135s and three EC130s.