posted March 09, 2023

Ascend program makes specialized clinical education available to emergency medical personnel serving patients in Walton County

DENVER, CO, March 9, 2023 – Air Methods, the nation’s leading air medical service provider, announced today that Walton County Sheriff’s Office has chosen to make Ascend critical care clinician education program available in-person and online to EMTs and paramedics serving Walton County, Florida.

Walton County Fire Rescue, the fire-rescue entity of Walton County Sheriff’s Office, provides emergency medical services from the Alabama line to the Choctawhatchee Bay covering nearly 900 square miles.

After the closure of the only emergency department in their service area in early 2022, Walton County Fire Rescue moved quickly to partner with Air Methods to make helicopter air medical transport available, allowing a more rapid response to traumatic injuries and to alleviate long transport times for both patients and emergency medical services staff.

“The implementation of Walton County’s first medical helicopter requires high expectations from our constituents,” said Sheriff Michael Adkinson. “We have no doubt that Ascend will help us meet those expectations and more as we look to the sky to continue improving our quality of care by expanding the knowledge of our clinicians to better treat patients we transport.”

The Ascend in-person and online education programs are designed to help pre-hospital and critical care clinicians build life-saving skills and confidence as well as fulfill continuing education requirements. This highly effective program provides access to world-class educators, state-of-the-art tools, and cutting-edge technologies, including advanced manikin-based simulation and virtual reality training that mirror real-world patient care scenarios both in person and online.

Not only that, but courses meet certification requirements for Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE) and International Board of Specialty Certifications (IBSC).

“When faced with the closure of the only emergency department in their area, Walton County Sheriff’s Office took immediate action to assure critical services are available to their communities,” said Dr. Stephanie Queen, Air Methods Senior Vice President of Clinical Services. “We are proud to not only partner with them for air medical transport, but to also provide the advanced, high-quality clinician education that will equip all of their clinicians to provide live-saving care to their patients.”

In addition to providing the Ascend education program, Air Methods is partnering with WCSO to operate its flight program, serving Walton County with a Bell 407 helicopter from a new base site opening in the county in April 2023.

Learn more about the Ascend education program here.

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About Air Methods

Air Methods (www.airmethods.com) is the leading air medical service, delivering lifesaving care to more than 100,000 people every year. With nearly 40 years of air medical experience, Air Methods is the preferred partner for hospitals and one of the largest community-based providers of air medical services. United Rotorcraft is the Company’s products division specializing in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. Air Methods’ fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features more than 450 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

Media Contact:
Katlyn Nesvold
Amendola Communications for Air Methods