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Novant Health Med Flight Takes To The Sky

Novant Health

This week Novant Health announced it would be taking to the sky. The health care system’s first helicopter will be based at the Novant Health Rowan Medical Center in Salisbury.

Dr. Andrew Mueller says having the ability to airlift patients in critical conditions will help the health care system provide better care, especially in rural areas.

"Even as fast as ground transport can be, in some cases it’s not going to be fast enough to prevent death or significant injury in some cases," Muller said. "This gives us the ability to transport patents from outlying facilities as well as to arrive on scene at accidents or other events where something has occurred."

Previously, Novant has partnered with other health systems that have air transport systems to receive patients.

The Novant Health Med Flight will serve communities including Charlotte and Winston-Salem. The organization estimates the helicopter will transport 300 to 400 people in its first year of service.

Carolina’s Healthcare System has long had a fleetof aircraft including several helicopters.

Sarah Delia is a Senior Producer for Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, New York, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.