Air Care & Mobile Care Wins Prestigious Medical Transport Award

CINCINNATI—UC Health Air Care & Mobile Care has been named Program of the Year by the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS), the top award for rotor wing and ground medical transport programs.

The Program of the Year Award, sponsored by American Eurocopter, recognizes one emergency medical program that has exemplified a superior level of patient care, management prowess, quality leadership, customer service, safety consciousness, and commitment to the medical transport community as a whole. Winning programs are selected from hundreds each year.

"Each time an Air Care & Mobile Care crew transports a patient by ground or by air, they are providing the latest in evidence-based care, with a paramount commitment to safety,” says Lee Ann Liska, CEO and President of University of Cincinnati Medical Center. "Their physicians, nurses, pilots, transport crews and staff are an integral part of our UC Health family. Though we have long been aware of their excellence, we are incredibly proud of their recognition with this AAMS award.”

Founded in 1984, UC Health Air Care & Mobile Care comprises 140 transport specialists from diverse professional backgrounds. Each year, the organization transports more than 1,000 patients by helicopter and 10,000 by ground across the Greater Cincinnati area. 

It was one of the first transport programs in the country to be accredited in four levels: rotor wing, ground critical care, ground advanced life support and ground basic life support. 

"There is no higher distinction in the world of critical care transport medicine than the AAMS Program of the Year Award,” says Air Care & Mobile Care Director Teri Grau. "It is truly an honor to be recognized by our peers for our commitment to safety and excellent patient care. We want to thank our staff, our community at UC Health, our local EMS partners and hospitals and the Greater Cincinnati region for their many years of support for our organization. Ultimately this is about the community and the people we serve.”

In naming Air Care & Mobile Care 2013 Program of the Year, AAMS highlighted areas of clinical, safety and service excellence:

• The organization’s development of a groundbreaking Code STEMI protocol, which works with area hospitals to speed transfer and reperfusion of patients experiencing a STEMI heart attack. Since its launch, the protocol has decreased the STEMI patients’ door-to-balloon arrival times by a mean of 48 minutes.
• Air Care & Mobile Care’s community involvement, including providing special event coverage for University of Cincinnati sporting events, presence at local high school prom/mock accident drills and Cincinnati mass casualty training event. In 2012, Air Care & Mobile Care’s special event crew attended more than 130 events and provided more than 2,000 hours of community service.
• The safety pledge taken by all members of the crew and displayed for all to see in the offices. 
• The free continuing education credits provided annually for area medics and EMTs through landing zone safety classes, online education and presentations.

Air Care & Mobile Care received the award at the Air Medical Transport Conference award banquet, held Monday, Oct. 21, in Virginia Beach, Va. See a video about the award that aired at the banquet online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwJRjDYcPqw&feature=youtu.be.