An Approved Landing Site (ALS) improves the logistics of interhospital transfer of critically ill patients by helicopter

Geffen, Geert‐Jan van; Spoelder, Ed J.; Tijben, Amanda; Slagt, Cornelis

doi:10.1186/s13049-021-00894-2

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…In order to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 admissions and to equally distribute pressures between hospitals, a national task force (Landelijk Coördinatiecentrum Patiënten Spreiding; LCPS) was established which coordinated interfacility transfers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the Netherlands [ 2 ]. Depending on the severity of disease, types of transportation included advanced life support (ALS) ambulances, mobile intensive care units (MICUs), and helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) [ 3 , 4 ]. This complex operation required full transparency within the healthcare system as well as close cooperation between hospitals [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous interfacility transfer of multiple non-critically ill COVID-19 patients using a single vehicle: the ambulance bus experience

et al. 2022

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Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital capacity in the Netherlands has been pushed to its limits. In order to prevent hospitals from collapse due to capacity issues, hospitalized COVID-19 patients were redistributed throughout the country. The numerous individual interfacility transfers further increased the pressure on emergency medical services (EMS), which simultaneously had to serve the community during the pandemic. In this report, we evaluate the interfacility transport of multiple non-critically ill COVID-19 patients using one single vehicle: a coach converted into an ambulance bus. Discussion Between March 28, 2020, and July 17, 2021, the ambulance bus was dispatched 22 times. In total, 102 patients were transferred over a mean distance of 79.6 km. No technical or patient-related adverse events were reported. The primary benefits of the ambulance bus were its time and staff reducing potential, as well as the ability to provide relief to overwhelmed hospitals. Furthermore, it could be assembled from existing equipment in a relatively short time span. However, the efficiency of dispatches and matching between hospitals could be improved. Conclusion The simultaneous interfacility transfer of multiple non-critically ill COVID-19 patients using an ambulance bus was feasible. No technical or patient-related adverse events were reported during 22 dispatches, involving a total of 102 patients. This mode of transport may also be useful in non-pandemic situations, such as hospital and nursing home evacuations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous interfacility transfer of multiple non-critically ill COVID-19 patients using a single vehicle: the ambulance bus experience

et al. 2022

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Helicopter Rescue for Flood Disaster: Scheduling, Simulation, and Evaluation

et al. 2022

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Frequent severe floods have caused great losses to urban safety and the economy, which raises high requirements for the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency rescue. Due to the flood characteristics, flood rescue requires a more rapid responder and decision-making compared with other kinds of disaster rescue. In recent years, aviation emergency rescue (AER) has attracted much attention for flood applications. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of AER for flood disasters, the present study proposes a conceptual model of helicopter AER scheduling and develops a simulation system of helicopter AER scheduling using multiple agents. Seven elements are considered in the conceptual model: helicopters, the command-and-control center, temporary take-off/landing points, mission demand points, resettlement points, loading points, and unloading points. Furthermore, process-oriented and object-oriented scheduling rules are developed as the general guide for scheduling. In order to efficiently simulate and evaluate an AER mission (assisting the decision maker), the simulation system is designed with multiple agents and a user interface, which can quickly load mission settings, run the simulation, and collect data for further evaluation. A standardized mission makespan is adopted as the evaluation index. Based on that, the minimum integrated index can be derived to finally assess the different rescue schemes and choose the best. In the case study, the comparison results indicate that the rescue efficiency of large helicopters (Mi-26 in the case) could be limited by the capabilities of loading points and unloading points. This problem is solved by scheduling small/medium-size helicopters to transfer the personnel. Alternately, two types of helicopters can be used: one for passenger transfer and the other for goods/material transfer. Anyway, the analyses in the case study illustrate the correlation between effectiveness and scheduling, which demonstrates the significance of decision-making. By using the proposed scheduling and modeling methods, the simulation system can be served as a convenient decision-making support tool for practical rescue applications.

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An Approved Landing Site (ALS) improves the logistics of interhospital transfer of critically ill patients by helicopter

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

Simultaneous interfacility transfer of multiple non-critically ill COVID-19 patients using a single vehicle: the ambulance bus experience

Simultaneous interfacility transfer of multiple non-critically ill COVID-19 patients using a single vehicle: the ambulance bus experience

Helicopter Rescue for Flood Disaster: Scheduling, Simulation, and Evaluation

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