Goal: To minimize Flight Crews, EMS and Patient exposures to areas of the ED that are unnecessary.
Procedure: The Red Room/South Helipad will be utilized whenever possible for helicopter arrivals during the COVID-19 pandemic. All patients arriving by helicopter (regardless of whether they are stable, unstable, or for direct admission) will come to the ED for physician evaluation. The process for this is: EMS Response Crew: will hail EMS ECC on the HC-BUS TG to advise you are getting in the elevator with the flight crew.
EMS ECC: Will coordinate incoming aircraft and landing to be met by an EMS crew on the helipad as is currently done. EMS and the flight crew will meet upon landing at the helicopter and proceed to the elevator down to Red 1 level. Upon entry of the elevator (or very close to it), EMS ECC will notify the Team A PSC, ED Faculty Phones, ED Pit Boss Phones, Charge and Comm RN phones by ZipIt page that the patient is Enroute in the elevator to the ED. The words “Helicopter Landing Party to the Elevator Door now” will be used.
PSC: Upon receiving this message, the PSC will page overhead “Helicopter Landing Party to the Elevator Door now”. This is the notification for the following ED personnel to meet the Helicopter Crew, EMS and the Patient at the folding glass doors of the ED near the Red 1 elevators. The meeting place will be just inside the ED glass doors at the janitorial closet area across from CT (Signage will be posted there).
The changes in this from our current workflow are:
- WMRCC Notification of the ED PSC that the patient is descending in the elevator to Red 1.
- ED PSC overhead notification of “Helicopter Landing Party to the Elevator Door now”.
- EMS and Helicopter Crew will hold just inside the folding glass ED Doors across from CT.
- Landing Party of ED Physician, Comm RN and HCA to meet every arriving helicopter crew and patient at the elevator door.