GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In an emergency, every second counts. And now West Michigan has a new tool, ready to respond to life or death situations.
Corewell Health announced Wednesday they have added a new ambulance helicopter to its fleet.
The Sikorsky S-76 C++ can be in the air within minutes to respond to crashes or be used to transport patients to different facilities.
The new helicopter will have improved fuel efficiency, state of the art avionics and certified IFR (instrument flight rules) capability.
This new bird will also replace the current aero med helicopter, which will now be used for backup.
It also puts the Aero Med program in good position if they decide to expand.
"Medical helicopters take a lot of time to configure and become equipped to do this work," Tiffany Obetts of Aero Med said. "And there are a lot of programs like ours that are waiting, sometimes years in order to get a new helicopter online."
Obetts also said that Aero Med has continued to see value and performance with the Sikorsky S-76 airframe since adding it to their operation in 1994. The purchase marks the fifth Sikorsky helicopter bought in the history of the program.
“With speeds up to 180 mph and a range of 300 miles, the S-76 remains a safe and reliable helicopter for the hundreds of patient missions flown all over Michigan each year,” Obetts said.
Aero med has been serving West Michigan since 1987.
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