Air Medical Helicopter Honored During June 8 Rattlers’ Game
ThedaStar Air Medical will celebrate its 30th anniversary during a June 8 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Game at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.
Based at the ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah Level II Trauma Center, ThedaStar provides helicopter transports and transfers for trauma patients and critically ill patients in Northeast Wisconsin. The helicopter and crew members are scheduled to be at the game.
When ThedaStar made its first flight in 1986, it was the first medical helicopter north of Milwaukee and Madison, and the third in the state. It has since logged more than 12,700 flights in its three decades of service. About 70 percent of ThedaStar’s flights are medical transports to and from hospitals. Although some days the helicopter may not get a call and others it may have up to six, ThedaStar averages two flights a day.
During each flight, a pilot and two trained medical professionals can care for up to two patients. The pilots and medical professionals rotate their schedules, making ThedaStar available 24 hours a day. One flight nurse who went on the inaugural fight – Pam Witt-Hillen – still flies with the program.
The aircraft is a twin-engine 2008 Airbus EC-135 that is leased from PHI Air Medical, along with the pilots and mechanics.
The Rattlers will play the Clinton LumberKings starting at 7:05 p.m.
For more than 100 years, ThedaCare™ has been committed to finding a better way to deliver serious and complex healthcare to patients throughout Northeast Wisconsin. The organization serves over 200,000 patients annually and employs more than 7,000 healthcare professionals throughout the region. ThedaCare has seven hospitals located in Appleton, Neenah, Berlin, Waupaca, Shawano, New London and Wild Rose as well as 34 clinics in 14 counties. ThedaCare is the first in Wisconsin to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network Member, giving our specialists the ability to consult with Mayo Clinic experts on a patient’s care. ThedaCare is a non-profit healthcare organization with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs as well as a foundation dedicated to community service. The ThedaCare Regional Cancer Center in Appleton opened in February. For more information, visit www.thedacare.org or follow ThedaCare on Facebook and Twitter
