Florida Hospital System (see more articles like this)

WHAT:  In an emergency, minutes can be the difference between life and death.  Now, Central Floridians in need of medical care have another tool on their side -- Florida Hospital’s newly acquired emergency helicopter.  Now a man having a heart attack in Kissimmee, a women having a stroke in Vero Beach, or a mom going into pre-term labor in Gainesville can all be transferred to Florida Hospital for the latest treatments available. 

In fact, the new EC145 medical helicopter will allow Florida Hospital’s flight team to treat even more patients. The helicopter is equipped with a state-of-the-art weather radar, which allows the team to safely take off and maneuver around storms instead of waiting the storm out.  In addition, since the helicopter is larger it has the ability to take more monitoring equipment and specialty teams when needed.  

For the past 20 years, Florida Flight 1 has been serving the Central Florida community and beyond. The team has transferred more than 16,000 patients within their service range, which is a 150-mile radius around Orlando.  This covers all the hospitals within the Florida Hospital system as well as many other hospitals around the state.

WHEN:   April 12, 2005 at 12 p.m.
  Helicopter lands at 12:15 p.m.

WHERE: Florida Hospital Orlando’s helipad
  (located around the backside of the hospital near the FH College)

VISUALS: 

 Helicopter landing at Florida Hospital
 Interview with Dr. DePonte, Medical Director of Florida Hospital’s Florida Flight 1 Program.
  Interview with patients who benefited from Florida Flight One