AirLife, an air medical transport service provided by Carle Foundation Hospital and ARCH Air Medical Services, Inc., has acquired a new helicopter to replace its old one.

The old helicopter was bigger than other medical helicopters but still had limited patient access. It only allowed a maximum weight of 250 pounds for the passenger, said Bob Abrams, director of marketing for ARCH.

The new helicopter, a BK-117 with a twin engine, has a 400-pound passenger weight capacity and a 30 percent larger interior cabin to provide better patient access and the capability to roll patients in on stretchers to increase efficiency on flights, said Lynn Clutts, chief flight nurse and manager of AirLife.

With the increased space, it can transport larger patients and up to three caregivers, said Lynne Barnes, vice president of clinical operations at Carle Foundation Hospital.

As the volume of patients using AirLife grew, administrations of Carle and ARCH acknowledged the need for a larger helicopter, and acquired the BK-117 for more than $3 million.

In the past, the helicopter has been used to transfer patients between hospitals or from the scene of an accident.

It is also used to transport pediatric patients, neonatal intensive care unit infants, and women in premature labor.

The goal in cases of premature labor is to get moms to the hospital as quickly as possible and stop the labor because the baby has a greater chance of surviving if labor is on time, Clutts said.

“The aero-ambulance insures that the patient doesn’t lose that golden hour of care,” Barnes said.

The mini-emergency room has monitors, medical pumps, abilities to put in special airwaves, ventilator and a medical team with extensive special training, Clutts said.

“We can help rural hospitals in difficult situations,” Clutts said.

Clutts estimated AirLife could reach Danville in 12 minutes, a trip that typically takes 45 minutes by car, and Mattoon in about 17 minutes instead of the usual hour by car.

“AirLife can go as far as Indianapolis, Effingham, Ill., Watseka, Ill., Decatur, Ill., and Springfield, Ill., when it would make a difference in a patient’s outcome,” Barnes said.

Dr. Tom Scaggs, medical director of AirLife, quoted a study in the “Journal of American Medical Association” that estimated a 52 percent reduction in predicted mortality when a patient was transported from a trauma scene by a helicopter versus an ambulance.

Doing a cost-per-year-of-life-saved analysis, Scaggs said, “In the grand scheme of things, helicopter transport isn’t really expensive.”

Once a physician or a paramedic on the scene deems a helicopter transport necessary, an average bill lies between $5,000 and $7,000, but 99.9 percent of the time insurance covers it, Abrams said.

The cost of an ambulance can be $200 to $1,000, but a helicopter transport costs significantly higher because just to start the helicopter costs $450, Abrams said. Additionally, the helicopter is on timed-maintenance, which means that some parts need maintenance after a certain number of hours.

Benefits to patients are recognized, Scaggs said. Helicopter personnel provide a higher level of care and carry advanced medications and blood that isn’t available to ground ambulances.

“Medical necessity is very important,” Scaggs said. “We don’t want to fly people who don’t need to be flown because it’s expensive. We fly only when it’ll make a difference. There’s a big cost to it, but are you going to put a cost on life?”