AirMed
AirMed1
Shannon AirMed1 is a joint effort between Shannon Medical Center and Med-Trans. Shannon Medical Center provides experienced, well-trained crew members, as well as state-of-the-art medical equipment. Med-Trans provides a safe, reliable aircraft with professionally trained pilots and maintenance staff.
Shannon AirMed1 transports cardiac, trauma, medical, pediatric and burn patients. Transportation via AirMed1 of critically ill or injured patients can significantly reduce time enroute to a hospital and allow patients to receive definitive care within the golden hour—the first hour following injury, heart attack, or another critical or life-threatening condition.
Shannon AirMed1 has won the Air Medical Service Award from the Texas Department of State Health Services four times.
Area coverage
Shannon AirMed1 provides 24-hour emergency care for area hospitals in counties across West Texas. The helicopter has extensive life-support equipment to provide care for patients in life-threatening or emergency conditions.
AirMed1 is unique in that it is able to provide coverage to a large area of West Texas. Shannon AirMed1 benefits more than 13 West Texas counties and hospitals in its primary service area.
West Texas spans 131,323 square miles and is home to more than 2.6 million people, or 14 percent of the state population. Of the 108 counties of West Texas, 99 are classified as rural and 54 are sparsely populated, with fewer than seven persons per square mile. Only Alaska has more frontier landmass than Texas, and most of the Texas frontier landmass is in West Texas.
Unlike East Texas, which has major urban centers and small towns that dot the highway every 10 to 12 miles, communities in West Texas are much more isolated. In fact, San Angelo is one of only seven metropolitan centers scattered across the 108 counties of West Texas. The centers serve as the healthcare hubs for people living within the region, although access to such services can mean driving two to four hours. Shannon AirMed1 is proud to provide faster access to vital healthcare for these rural areas during an emergency situation.
AirMed2
Shannon is proud to offer AirMed2, our fixed wing air ambulance service for long-distance transport of patient. This service is a joint effort between Shannon, Eagle Med LLC, and Med-Trans Corporation.
The plane is a King Air 90 that is designed and outfitted with unique equipment and features to provide optimal care to patients during transport. It includes all of the equipment and trained staff on board to offer the same medical attention a patient could receive in an emergency room. The medical crew on each flight includes a critical care nurse and a flight paramedic who hold advanced certification. It includes additional unique safety features including synthetic vision, integrated traffic system, enhanced weather radar, and Nexrad radar.
AirMed2 is stationed at the San Angelo Regional Airport with its own dedicated crew available 24/7. It provides prompt medical transport of patients across greater distances to Shannon or to other facilities in the Tri-State area.
Membership plan
When you or your family member is ill or injured and need emergency transportation, it helps to have friends in high places.
The Shannon AirMed1 membership program is designed to bring you medically necessary air ambulance services at a significantly decreased cost to you! Even though we are required by law to collect deductibles and co-payments, many insurances can still leave thousands of dollars unpaid—thousands of dollars you would not have to pay as a member of this plan.
For more information, contact 800.793.0010 or visit www.joinmedtrans.com
AirMed1 has a regional Communication Center that is staffed 24 hours a day. The Communication Center is responsible for dispatch and flight following for AirMed1 and is in continuous contact with local and area EMS.
The Communication Center expedites patient transfers and transports and is always aware of the status of physician availability, bed availability, blood availability and other information critical to emergency and trauma response. Area facilities, with their limited personnel, have to make only one phone call to arrange further care for their patient, whether they need an accepting physician, air transport or ground transport. Our communication specialists have all received the National Air Communication Specialist certification.
The National Air Communication Specialist certification course provides air medical dispatchers the opportunity to learn efficient, proven techniques and to achieve the national standard for air medical communications specialist training. Communication specialists face daily challenges and additional responsibility as air medical transport systems expand and change. This specialized education is provided by a national board member of the National Association of Air Medical Communication Specialists in association with the AirMed1 pilots, flight paramedics and flight nurses.
We believe in providing our partners with aircraft solutions that meet their needs. Med-Trans offers the best single and light twin platform in the industry.
Our aircrafts are equipped with state-of-the-art safety equipment, such as night vision goggles and enhanced vision systems, radar altimeters, GPS navigation, satellite tracking, a terrain alert warning system, and a traffic alert and collision avoidance system.
Bell 407
The Bell 407 strikes the perfect balance between performance, reliability and mission flexibility. The 407 is ideal for extreme environments: high altitudes, arctic conditions or even the hottest locales.
The Bell 407 features quick and easy patient loading and unloading provided by a standard bifold door with a 61-inch (155 cm) opening. It offers expanded safety and reduced operating costs from the full authority digital engine control engine fuel management system, superior reliability provided by the proven Rolls-Royce 250-C47B turbine engine and enhanced crash-resistance stemming from a robust cabin design and a rupture-resistant fuel system.
Night vision goggles
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA view night vision goggles as one way of enhancing safety for night operations. Night vision goggles take any available ambient light, such as the moon and stars, and multiply it thousands of times, turning darkness into near-daylight conditions.
Shannon AirMed1 staff members are available to help meet the educational needs of healthcare providers in our area. Offerings include continuing education credits for nursing and EMS providers. AirMed1 crews are also interested in designing programs specific to your professional needs.
Classes are free, and anyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to attend a class that is out of your area, please call us at 325.481.8588 so we may plan for you. If you would like to schedule a class in your area, please give us a call and we would be happy to arrange one to meet your needs.
Shannon AirMed teams awarded CAMTS Accreditation
The Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) is proud to announce that Shannon AirMed, a rotorwing and fixed wing service, was again awarded accreditation on July 24, 2021. AirMed provides highly skilled flight nurse/paramedic teams to care for adult and pediatric patients. Shannon AirMed1 provides 24-hour emergency care for area hospitals in counties across West Texas. The aircraft have extensive life-support equipment to provide care for patients in life-threatening or emergency conditions. The CAMTS accreditation is valid for three years.