Wellstar AirCare

Our services

Wellstar AirCare provides access to lifesaving critical care transport across Georgia and South Carolina. Operating two dedicated aircraft, our program extends rapid emergency response and interfacility transport deep into rural communities and provides dedicated air medical coverage for our region. We serve patients receiving care at Wellstar and patients in emergency situations who need to be transported to the nearest medical facility equipped to treat their needs.

Wellstar AirCare helps extend PeopleCare to more patients and communities than ever. Our aircraft currently serve more than 100 counties across Georgia and South Carolina—bridging geography so patients have immediate access to the highest levels of care available. We have one helicopter based at Augusta Regional Airport and another at Griffin-Spalding County Airport.

Each aircraft staff includes a pilot and two highly trained critical care clinicians, responding 24/7 to both interfacility transports and emergency scenes. Our sophisticated lifesaving care beyond what most ground-based ambulances can offer, including infusions of whole blood for patients experiencing severe blood loss, transport of newborns in an isolette and support for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Our aircraft feature large interiors for critical patient care while in flight, with room for a medical specialist or family member. Our dedicated in-house communications center and Intelligent Central Operation Hub coordinate with Emergency Medical Services, hospital partners and first responders to deliver rapid access to expert critical care when minutes matter most.

Wellstar clinical crews make a significant difference in a patient's treatment journey. Our dedicated care teams are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week when emergency transport is needed for specialized, advanced care. Patients transported to Wellstar may receive care from one or more of:

• 11 Wellstar hospitals
• Seven trauma centers, including two Level I Trauma Centers at Wellstar Kennestone Regional and Wellstar MCG Health Medical Centers and a Pediatric Level II Trauma Center at Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia
• Seven Emergency Cardiac Care Centers, including two Level I Emergency Cardiac Care Centers at Wellstar Kennestone Regional and Wellstar MCG Health
• Three Comprehensive Stroke Centers at Wellstar Kennestone Regional, Wellstar MCG Health and Wellstar North Fulton Medical Centers and four Primary Stroke Centers in Metro Atlanta
• Level IV NICU at Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia, Level III NICUs at Wellstar Cobb and Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Centers and Level II NICUs at Wellstar Douglas and Wellstar North Fulton Medical Centers

Advanced capabilities

Our aircraft have a large medical space that allows for increased patient access while in flight. They also feature clamshell doors and a Stryker stretcher system that assist in the ease of loading and offloading patients. Our helicopters house the following lifesaving technology and materials:

• Zoll X Series monitor with non-invasive hemoglobin monitoring
• C-MAC video laryngoscopy
• Hamilton T1 ventilator with high flow nasal cannula with heated and humidified oxygen
• Aerogen vibrating mesh nebulizer
• Lumify point-of-care ultrasound
• i-Stat point-of-care lab testing
• Whole blood
• Sapphire volumetric IV pumps
• Maquet Cardiosave hybrid intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP)
• White Phosphor night vision goggles worn by all crew members
• Abiomed Impella heart pump
• Isolette transports, a mobile neonatal intensive care unit system
• Nitric oxide ventilation

Medical teams for all

Our teams are trained in adult, pediatric and neonatal critical care transport. Every clinician holds board-certified specialty credentials in air medical or emergency critical care.

Standard Wellstar AirCare Flight crew:

• One flight paramedic with at least five years of high-acuity EMS/CCT experience
• One flight nurse with at least three years of ER/ICU specialty experience

Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia Pediatric & Neonatal Specialty Team:

• One pediatric/neonatal respiratory therapist
• One flight nurse with pediatric or neonatal specialty
• One AirCare flight nurse/paramedic

Dispatch protocol

Wellstar AirCare can be contacted via telephone at (706) 721-AIR1(2471). Wellstar AirCare transports are arranged by our own Wellstar certified flight communicators.

Wellstar AirCare is available for:

• 911 emergency scene response
• Scene stand-by
• Interfacility transfers for critical and specialty care
• Coordination with regional EMS and emergency management partners

  All FAA Part 135 aviation services provided by Metro Aviation, Inc.