Rhonda Reeder, the EastCare transport team’s administrator, said the EC135/EC145 mix will offer excellent flexibility for its operations – which provide rapid transport and advanced medical care to critically ill pediatric and adult patients.  EastCare covers a large service area encompassing 29 counties in eastern North Carolina, and which can extend into Virginia.  

“Both the EC135 and EC145 provide the right cabin size for our double-patient transport configuration with a full complement of critical-care medical equipment,” said Reeder.  “They also meet our no. 1 goal of safety, with such advanced technologies as night vision goggles, the Terrain Awareness and Warning System, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System and single-pilot IFR operation.” 

From its base at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport, the EC135 will provide rapid response times to emergency accident scenes, and its compact footprint enables the helicopter to operate from more constrained landing sites. EastCare’s two EC145s will provide the additional range for flights across its coverage area without the need for refueling, while retaining the full medical equipment and double-patient airlift capability. 

All three helicopters are purchased for the EastCare service, and are to succeed three Eurocopter BK-117s that currently are operated on a lease arrangement and flown by Air Methods.  “Our decision to move from lease to the purchase gives us more control over the aircraft, particularly in maintenance and operations,” Reeder said.  “The EC135/EC145 mix is a great choice for us, which was driven by their cabin size, performance and similar features.” EastCare is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems, and its fleet of three BK-117s flew more than 2,080 patient flight hours in 2009.