Critical Care Transport

CareFlight 

CareFlight medical helicopter service has served North Mississippi Medical Center since 1986.

NMMC leases the helicopter from Air Methods, one of the largest medical aviation providers in America. Air Methods' pilots and mechanics have many years of experience.

Based at Tupelo Regional Airport, CareFlight has logged thousands of flights. The Mississippi State Department of Health's Emergency Medical Services Division licenses CareFlight as a critical care transport service.

The crew provides critical care treatment to patients at any scene or referring facility within a 150-mile radius at their time of need. The helicopter cruises at 152 miles per hour.

CareFlight is dispatched and tracked by the NMMC Patient Logistics Center. Requests may be made to 1-800-843-4420.

CareFlight carries three crew members - a pilot and two medical crew members - on all flights. Certified Flight Registered Nurses (CFRN) and Flight Paramedics (FP-C) are highly skilled in advanced procedures and certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Basic Life Support, Basic Trauma Life Support or Prehospital Trauma Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitation Program.  

Crew members spend many hours in continuing education to maintain competency at the critical care level.

Flight Missions

• Scene flights
• Transfers to NMMC from a referring facility
• Transfers from NMMC to a receiving facility
• Third party hospital transfers

Services

Flight features Advanced Life Support equipment and supplies that enable the crew to monitor arterial and Swan-Ganz lines, hang and transport blood and blood products, use paralytics and administer advanced drips such as Cardizem, thrombolytics and Nipride.

Training Courses

CareFlight crews provide Ground Safety and Landing Zone Courses for area first responders. For more information, email nmmccareflight@nmhs.net.

CareFlight Ground

Along with CareFlight medical helicopter, CareFlight Ground transports critical patients from area hospitals to NMMC in Tupelo, the only Level II Trauma Center in the north half of Mississippi, as well as other hospitals.

When bad weather or a prior request prevents the medical helicopter from responding, CareFlight Ground is dispatched.

Crew

CareFlight Ground is staffed by nurses with ER and ICU background, along with paramedics and EMTs. Our team undergoes advanced training to care for critically ill patients and is readily available 24 hours daily.