Meaghan Evans

Mount Airy News

If all goes according to plan, the county will soon have an AirCare Critical Care helicopter stationed in Elkin.

On Monday night the Surry County Board of Commissioners approved Surry County Emergency Services to enter into a contract with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center to base a helicopter at Elkin Airport. The contract is still in the works, and it will need to be approved by the county attorney.

“We think this is going to be a very positive move for the county,” said John Shelton, Surry County Emergency Services director.

The AirCare helicopters allow patients with critical injuries to be transported to Baptist, giving faster transport than by ground. One to two patients could be transported at a time.

“If you’re having a heart attack or a stroke, those 15 minutes could be life saving,” said James Bryant, emergency services director for WFUBMC.

Shelton explained that Baptist had approached the county about basing a helicopter in Elkin. The county’s contract with Baptist will include hiring four Surry County paramedics, with Baptist funding all salaries, benefits, insurance, uniforms, training, medical director oversight and administrative costs. The county will invoice Baptist monthly to receive payment to cover these costs.

Bryant said stationing a helicopter in Elkin would open the center to a greater area.

“It gives us access to all of our counties to the west,” said Bryant.

But the director assured the commissioners that Baptist was not trying to steal patients from Surry County hospitals. He said the patients that will benefit from the service would have been transported by AirCare anyway. Now a helicopter will just be closer to them instead of having to come from Forsyth County.

“It’s a faster response,” said Bryant.

The helicopter will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by a registered nurse, a pilot and a Surry County paramedic. The medics will be trained by AirCare, and they will rotate between ground transport with Surry EMS and air transport. Commissioner Jimmy Miller asked how this would affect employee schedules with emergency services. Shelton said they would continue the same pattern and have their regular shifts.

“I see this only as an advantage,” Shelton remarked.

One of the advantages he sees is that it will allow county paramedics to receive advanced training so they can work in the different setting. He believes this will enhance their careers and give them a more varied work experience.

Shelton said, “I think it will allow us to keep medics longer.”

After a few more questions from the commissioners, Board Chairman Paul Johnson said, “It’s a win situation for both.”

The emergency services director said his only concerns were the greater risk of having medics in the air and not knowing what would happen to the newly-hired paramedics if the contract was terminated for some reason. But overall Shelton believes the project will be of great benefit to the county.

Baptist hopes to be ready to have a helicopter stationed in Elkin as early as May 1 if all goes well with the contract. Shelton said it would take a little longer for the county to hire four new medics. According to a letter from Shelton in the commissioners agenda packet, Baptist will provide full staffing for the helicopter until the county has chosen four new employees to rotate.

“The services will not only allow quicker response times to those in need, but will also provide better system integration and overall medical care to the citizens in our region,” Shelton said in the memo.

Baptist’s AirCare is the closest one to Surry County. Bryant said AirCare celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The first patient transported by AirCare to Baptist was from Surry County.

“Surry is one of our largest users of air medical services,” Bryant remarked.