Rural Aviation
Mediport Implementation Plan
North Dakota's aeromedical needs are provided by two Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and 136 ground ambulance or Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers. Combined, they cover an area in North Dakota approximately 70,655 square miles and serve a population of 638,000. North Dakotans receive health care services from 53 facilities in the state including hospitals, medical centers, public health services, and government hospitals.
EMS and HEMS providers use mediports, public-use airports, and intercepts to transfer people in need of medical care between health care facilities, between accident sites and health care facilities, or to transport medical personnel to areas where medical care is needed. Rapid access and critical care during transportation can improve the outcome of the patient, reduce the time spent in hospital, and help contain cost. This is especially true in rural areas where residents may live some distance from medical care services and local hospitals may be unable to provide a full range of medical services.
When approaching or departing a landing area, HEMS pilots determine wind directions, obstructions to landing, slope of the ground, debris that may be thrown at people, and dust or snow that may obscure the vision of the pilot from high winds created by the helicopter rotors.
Although, helicopter landing areas (mediports) were established with the knowledge they could help save lives, mediports have been established without a uniform method of identifying their location or describing their structure. Establishing a process of identifying and communicating information on mediports will assist those involved in providing health services to respond more efficiently to medical emergencies. Selecting a mediport site should include input from health care providers, EMS and HEMS, law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and community leaders if the mediport is to be designed for optimal use. Latest information on mediport should be made available either on a central computer system or printed in a publication.
Final Report
Date: September 1996
Author: Riaz Aziz
Completed Report: DP-112
For more information about this project, please e-mail julie.rodriguez@ndsu.edu.