Helicopter fly-in will show emergency medicine in action
Collaboration will be in the air on Nov. 28 when a medevac helicopter lands on the Medical Education and Training building lawn at the UNT Health Science Center. Aboard will be a full crew - emergency medical technician, nurse and physician, ready to show UNTHSC students how they work. The event, PHI Air Medical Helicopter Fly-in Meet and Greet, supports UNTHSC's collaborative and interprofessional efforts.
Barring inclement weather or an actual emergency, the big bird will land at noon in an area of the lawn cordoned off by UNTHSC Police. Normal MET activities and auto traffic flow will not be interrupted, said Police Chief Gary Gailliard.
Hosts are members of the Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG), all of whom are Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine students. Students in all the UNTHSC schools who want to see what happens inside a medevac helicopter are invited to take a tour while the chopper is on the ground.
"Collaboration is important because mutual respect and communication is the best thing for the patient," said Gerald Friedman, DO, EMIG Faculty Adviser and Director of Medical Simulation.
Roy Yamada, MD, will be on hand to discuss air medical services and his role as North Texas Medical Director for PHI Air Medical and EMS Medical Director for Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and several cities including Bedford, Euless, Hurst, Keller, Mansfield and North Richland Hills.
The Nov. 28 event, scheduled to conclude at 1 p.m., celebrates EMIG's new Flight Ride Out Program. This allows EMIG members to fly as observers with PHI or CareFlight to directly experience air medical medicine.
The event also furthers the development of interdisciplinary relationships among the various professionals who are essential to quality care in emergency medicine. "It's not ‘me' and it's not ‘you' - it's the patient," Dr. Friedman said.
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