CareFlite is a nonprofit ambulance service based in Grand Prairie,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

which operates throughout North and Central

. CareFlite's original namesake service is helicopter air ambulance, though today it also performs fixed-wing and ground transport. CareFlite's Board of Directors includes representatives from Texas Health Resources, Methodist Health System, Baylor Scott & White Health Care System, Parkland Health and Hospital System, and the

JPS Health Network The Tarrant County Hospital District (TCHD) does business as the JPS Health Network. It is the taxpayer-supported hospital district of Tarrant County, Texas. Its headquarters are in the John Peter Smith Hospital at 1500 South Main Street, Fort ...

History

CareFlite began operations in 1979. It originated with one helicopter, a Bell 206L, which was shared between Methodist Dallas Medical Center and Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital. CareFlite augmented their air ambulance service with ground operations in 1981.

Fleet

Current aircraft

CareFlite N429CF at Old Parkland Memorial Hospital ER garage helipad

CareFlite currently operates six helicopters, one fixed-wing aircraft, and several ground ambulances. * 2 Bell 429 * 4 Bell 407GX * 1 Beech C90

Former aircraft

Agusta AW109 The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to b ...

* Bell 222UT * Bell 206L CF407Granbury

Operations

Helicopter flight crew

Each CareFlite helicopter is staffed by a pilot, a nurse, and a paramedic meeting the following minimum requirements:

Pilot

ATP ATP may refer to: Companies and organizations * Association of Tennis Professionals, men's professional tennis governing body * American Technical Publishers, employee-owned publishing company * ', a Danish pension * Armenia Tree Project, non ...

Rotorcraft Certification * 2500 hours helicopter total time * 500 turbine flight hours * 200 unaided night-flight hours

Nurse

* At least five years emergency room and/or intensive care unit experience * Paramedic license or certification * CFRN * ACLS * ATLS or TPATC * PALS * S.T.A.B.L.E. * NRP Paramedic * At least 5 years progressive 9-1-1 experience *

FP-C The Flight paramedic Certification (FP-C) is an advanced certification that indicates an individual has attained the designation of Certified Flight Paramedic. The FP-C certification exam is administered by thInternational Board of Specialty Certi ...

* ACLS * ATLS or TPATC * PALS * S.T.A.B.L.E. * NRP

Bases of operation

Helicopter

* Methodist Dallas Medical Center * Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital * McKinney National Airport * North Texas Medical Center *

Granbury Regional Airport Granbury Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) west of the central business district of Granbury, a city in Hood County, Texas, United States. Formerly known as Granbury Municipal Air ...

* Whitney, Texas * Burnet, Texas

Fixed-wing

* Grand Prairie Municipal Airport

Ground

Collin County Collin County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas- Fort Worth- Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States census, the county's popula ...

* Dallas County * Denton County * Ellis County *

Erath County Erath County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the United States Census bureau its population was 42,545 in 2020. The county seat is Stephenville. The county is named for George Bernard Erath, an early surveyor a ...

* Hill County * Johnson County * Kaufman County *

Palo Pinto County Palo Pinto County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,409. The county seat is Palo Pinto. The county was created in 1856 and organized the following year. Palo Pinto County comprises th ...

* Parker County

Accidents

* On September 3, 2003, a CareFlite AW109 lost power while taking off from the Methodist Dallas Medical Center. The pilot aborted the takeoff, forcing the aircraft onto its side on the helipad to avoid going over the side of the building. The pilot was injured in the crash. * On June 2, 2010, a CareFlite 222 was undergoing a post-maintenance flight near Midlothian, Texas when it broke up in the air. The pilot and the mechanic on board were both killed in the crash. The probable cause was found to be fracture of a swashplate drive pin. * On September 30, 2012, a CareFlite AW109 dispatched on mission entered IFR conditions, shortly thereafter descending from the clouds. The aircraft impacted the ground at a level attitude, skidded and landed on its side. The three crew members were seriously injured.

Memberships

As with some other air ambulance services, CareFlite offers yearly memberships to cover transport costs not paid by medical insurance. The membership costs are charged per household. This includes helicopter, ground, and most fixed-wing transport costs.

Fixed-wing transport

If insurance deems a fixed-wing transport usage not medically necessary or denies claim, the member is responsible 50% of the charges.

Partnership with Air Methods

CareFlite has membership reciprocity with Air Methods, a large helicopter company which operates many air ambulance programs throughout the United States. This allows members of Air Methods and CareFlite to benefit from their memberships if they require air medical transport in either companies' respective areas of operation.

References

{{Reflist

External links

CareFlite website

Bringing Health and Hope – CareFlite Texas
__FORCETOC__ Air ambulance services Air ambulance services in the United States Healthcare in Texas