For more than 20 years, the Palm Beach County Health Care District's two Trauma Hawk Sikorsky helicopters have flown gunshot victims, car crash patients and others in need of critical care to county trauma hospitals.
But the Health Care District plans to replace its aging air ambulances with new ones that officials say will provide enhanced levels of care.
The district recently signed a $22,748,004 contract with Leonardo, an aerospace, defense and security company headquartered in Rome, for the purchase and manufacture of two light-intermediate AgustaWestland AW169 helicopters.
It is anticipated that the new helicopters will be available by the summer of 2022, a district spokeswoman said.
Officials say the AW169s will offer new features, such as a larger cabin and a roll-on stretcher system that will allow a patient to be transferred directly from the helicopter to a hospital without having to be put on a different stretcher.
"These aircraft have a more spacious cabin that will allow for 360-degree access to the patient, thereby enhancing patient care before, during and after transport," district spokeswoman Robin Kish said in an email to The Palm Beach Post.
The AW169 helicopters also will be equipped with various safety features, including a digital automatic flight-control system, and a full night-vision, goggle-compatible, digital-class cockpit, she said.
The Health Care District currently has two Sikorsky S76 C+ helicopters that have been in use since 1999. The aircraft are operated by a rotating team of pilots ,and each can transport up to two patients, a state-registered nurse and a state-registered paramedic.
Kish said the Health Care District conducted a multiyear search for potential replacements, factoring in quality, safety and cost efficiency. A designated reserve fund to purchase the new helicopters was established eight years ago, she said.
In a statement released by Leonardo, the company noted that the aircraft will be among its first to feature the new stretcher system.
The roll-on stretchers would eliminate the need for the Trauma Hawk medical team to transfer a patient onto a hospital stretcher after landing at the hospital's helipad.
"By using the roll-on stretcher, it also means the hospital staff will no longer need to meet the aircraft with a hospital stretcher, potentially saving several minutes in a life-saving mission." Kish said.
Before the new helicopters are put into service, Health Care District pilots and mechanics will undergo specialized training.
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