Air Care Team

Leading the way in Trauma Care and Aviation

As the home of Central Florida’s only Level One Trauma Center, Orlando Health is distinguished in its commitment to emergency and trauma care. Our Air Care Team adds a critical level of care, providing airborne ambulance service that combines rapid response with expert care and on-board technology. 

Established in 1984, our Air Care Team was the first Emergency Helicopter Service based at a level I trauma center in Florida. Since that time, the Air Care Team has grown to include four helicopters, transporting more than 48,000 patients over millions of accident-free miles. The highly trained team combines expertise in both trauma care and aviation, responding quickly with state-of-the-art technology to provide immediate care and transport for the most critically ill.

The Air Care Team also offers an Emergency Transfer Center to facilitate physician-to-physician referrals for patients needing emergency evaluation or admission.

Where We Serve

Today, the Air Care Team serves throughout Central Florida with four EC-135 helicopters They are stationed at Kissimmee Gateway Airport, Leesburg International Airport, Bartow Executive Airport and in Apopka at a free-standing location. We are ready to provide the care our patients need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In addition to supporting all Orlando Health hospitals and specialty institutes in Florida, our Air Care team also provides assistance and support to other hospitals throughout the state, where needed.

For the Air Care Team, quality is the priority. Crews participate in extensive training, including quarterly simulation training, along with educational opportunities and training with our EMS partners, specialty teams and equipment vendors. Crews perform quality assurance and peer review of each and every flight to assure quality clinical care and documentation. The team has committees specifically dedicated to Process Improvement (PI) and Quality Assurance (QA), continuously assessing guidelines and patient care to ensure the highest standards. The Air Care Team is also a member of Ground Air Medical qUality Transport (GAMUT), collecting and tracking care performance data and ensuring the team consistently exceeds industry-set standards.

Clinical Capabilities

The Air Care Team ensures the highest level of care by staffing each aircraft with two clinicians from diverse backgrounds. Flight nurses have extensive ICU and ER experience, with a minimum of three to five years in their profession. Flight paramedics come from busy emergency medical services (EMS) and 911 environments and are also required to have at least three to five years of experience in the field. Additionally, all clinicians hold specialty certifications in areas like trauma, critical care, burns, pediatrics and neonatal care, enhancing their expertise and patient care.

Clinicians are equipped to deliver high-level ICU care in flight and proficient with a range of advanced medical devices, including intra-aortic balloon pumps, Impella heart pumps, Hamilton T-1 ventilator, C-Mac video laryngoscope, aerogen nebulizer, blood and fluid warmers, Baxter mobile medication infusion pumps, Zoll X cardiac monitor, whole blood administration and ICU-level medications.

Safety Management

Safety is of the utmost importance to Air Care Team patients and crew. The team adheres to a strict "three to say go, one to say no" policy, ensuring that all three crew members agree to the mission and risk profile before accepting a flight. Weather conditions are carefully evaluated prior to each flight to prioritize safety. The team utilizes effective crew resource management (CRM) and closed-loop communication to ensure all crew members are fully aligned on patient and flight safety protocols. All crew members are required to take the Air Medical Crew Core Course and quarterly safety training to assure they stay current on aviation safety topics. Finally, all of Air Care Team helicopter EMS (HEMS) pilots are required to have at least 1,500 hours of rotor-wing flight time, as well as complete annual recurrent aviation training with the Air Care Team vendor.