posted October 01, 2024

Emergency air medical program becomes first in the region with this designation 

 RAPID CITY, SD, Oct. 1, 2024 – Black Hills Life Flight became the first emergency air medical program in western South Dakota with first responder status today. This means that when they are called to the scene of an emergency by 911 dispatch, EMS, or a Sheriff’s or fire department, the pilot can identify a safe place to land the helicopter and the medical crew can begin patient care before other responders arrive. Prior to receiving this designation, the air medical crew had to remain in the air until first responders on the ground secured a landing zone. 

“In remote areas, sometimes a helicopter can reach a patient faster than a ground crew,” said Darryl Crown, account executive with Air Methods, the nation’s leading air medical service and parent company of Black Hills Life Flight. “With first responder status, we can land at a requested scene and provide patient care without the delay of waiting for other responding agencies to arrive. This allows us to provide essential life-saving measures and transport the patient to the most appropriate level of care in the timeliest manner, which helps provide a better outcome for the patient.” 

Until now, there had been no process in place for air medical providers to receive first responder designation. Black Hills Life Flight met with the law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies in their service area to address questions and concerns, which led to letters of support being issued from area Sheriff’s departments and emergency managers. Air Methods submitted its policies and procedures on landing in an unsecured area to the FAA, then Black Hills Life Flight crew members were trained on those requirements. Once first responder status was granted, follow-up letters were given to each safety agency in the service area and additional training was scheduled to educate those agencies on how to safely respond when a helicopter is already on the scene. 

“There are incidents in those rural areas that may take first responders [on the ground] an extensive amount of time to respond to the scene,” said Lawrence County Emergency Management Director Paul Thompson. “It may well be there are times when Black Hills Life Flight is able to arrive at the scene and render medical service prior to other first responders arriving.” 

The Black Hills Life Flight crews, based in Rapid City and Hot Springs, will still rely on ground responders to secure a landing zone when they are unable to locate a safe place to land from the air or when potential hazards need to be cleared. Additionally, other emergency responders must be en route to the scene, and the helicopter must still be dispatched through a 911 or agency request. No air medical team is permitted to self-dispatch in any situation. 

On every transport mission, Black Hills Life Flight’s clinical team carries whole blood and can administer it in flight if needed, positively increasing patient outcomes through pre-hospital care. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) – the highest standard in safety, clinical practice, quality assurance, and training in the industry.  

Air Methods is committed to providing air medical services to all members of the communities they serve and is in-network with most major health insurance providers for emergency air medical services. Additionally, their patient advocacy program works with all patients, regardless of insurance, to ensure affordability.