Support for EHS LifeFlight Program -- Op-Ed Piece
NOTE: The following is an op-ed piece by Dr. Dave Petrie, medical director for the adult crew of EHS LifeFlight.
On Monday, May 12, Nova Scotia's air medical transport program, Emergency Health Services (EHS) LifeFlight, will see a change in management from government to Emergency Medical Care.
The change is the result of an independent review, which recommended the program return to its original organizational structure, in that, a management company provides the overall program management and is the adult-care medical crew's employer.
Nova Scotia has an exceptional and well-integrated system of pre-hospital care and transportation. As medical director for the EHS LifeFlight Adult Program, I am proud to be part of a program that is recognized as being one of the best air ambulance services in North America. I truly believe that one management company will provide opportunities to have a larger mass of clinical expertise provincewide, such as shared ground and air educational initiatives.
Emergency Medical Care has filled the positions at EHS LifeFlight and I am confident in the choices that were made by the company's selection committee. Many successful candidates are returning personnel, and new recruits come with significant experience in emergency medical care and/or critical care. They all have impeccable clinical references from supervisors and medical directors.
EHS LifeFlight has provided, and will continue to provide, excellent clinical care to ill and injured patients. While there will be some turnover of staff with the program, there are excellent people staying and excellent people rising up through the ranks.
I would like to thank all the EHS LifeFlight crews, past and present, for their hard work in making this program the success that it is. This program is an important part of the emergency health system in Nova Scotia. It is one that Nova Scotians have come to rely on in time of need. I know that with our hard work and support it will continue to provide Nova Scotians with the best critical care possible.
My colleague, Dr. Chris Soder, who is the medical director of the EHS LifeFlight Pediatric Program, and I, are contracted by EHS to oversee medical accountability for this program. We know the clinical abilities of this team very well and would welcome any one of them to look after us or our families at any time.