Contact: Sara Quale
sara.quale@bannerhealth.com

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Dec. 6, 2019) – Patients in dire need of the fastest transportation depend on helicopter transport 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Now Northern Colorado residents can rest easy knowing that those helicopters are the safest possible, thanks to a partnership with Banner Health and Med-Trans.

Med-Trans and Banner Health replaced its fleet of three Med Evac  Bell helicopters with Airbus H125 model helicopters serving our bases in Boulder, Greeley, and Akron as well as surrounding areas. Med Evac’s fleet is on of the first full fleets in Colorado to be fitted with the latest – and government recommended – elements to enhance safety for the crews and people who fly with them.

Safety features include:

• Terrain alert warning system (TAWS)
• Dual hydraulics
• Crash worthy fuel tank
• Night vision goggles (NVGS)
• Crash worthy pilot seat
• Multi-Function Display (MFD) for weather
• Primary Flight Display (PFD) for instantaneous instrument readings and dual GPS
• Satellite tracking
• Radar altimeters
• Traffic alert and collision avoidance systems
• Jettisonable doors
• Fire detection system

In summary, the features focus on preventing fires after a crash and preventing injuries to the best extent possible to people on board. These measures were the target of federal legislation and a focus for many of Colorado’s elected leaders. Med-Trans and Banner are committed to providing the safest fleet possible for the pilot, flight nurse and paramedic who respond to each call and the patients they transport.

As Colorado’s Front Range population grows, more people than ever before are in need of this service. Be it a car crash on the eastern plains or venturing into the backcountry to ski, with the influx in travel and recreation, there is a rising trend in people getting into accidents and relying on Med Evac helicopters to save lives.

The Med Evac team is hosting a media event from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the Greeley-Weld County Airport, 600 Airport Road, for those interested in seeing the new helicopters first-hand and taking videos or photos. Med Evac staff will be on hand to answer questions and talk about the new safety features.

About Med Evac

The newly rebranded Med Evac, previously called North Colorado Med Evac, has provided air-care to Colorado since 1982. Med Evac provides on-scene emergency response and inter-facility transport. Med Evac is dedicated to the highest level of patient care. By strategically locating aircraft throughout north and eastern Colorado, the time to reach patients is significantly decreased. This is especially noted in trauma, cardiac and stroke patients, with many positive outcomes that can be directly related to a shorter time before the patient reaches definitive care, as well as the availability of higher level of care by the crew transporting the patient. The highly-skilled staff served more than 850 patients in 2018 ranging from illness and injuries to high-risk obstetric patients. For more information visit medevacco.com.

About Banner Health

Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns and operates 28 acute-care hospitals, Banner Health Network, Banner – University Medicine, academic and employed physician groups, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services; including Banner Urgent Care, family clinics, home care and hospice services, pharmacies and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.BannerHealth.com. 

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