• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.122-129
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• 2020

Korea's HEMS are mainly operated during the week, but they are pushing for 24-hour operations. This study has made an overall comparison and review of helicopter safety management that should be accompanied to this end. For research purposes, helicopter regulations and helicopter accident statistics were analyzed, with a high accident rate associated with pilot error and night flight. It was proposed that future preparations would require reinforcement of laws and regulations, reinforcement of pilots' night training, and introduction of training and preflight risk assessments. This study will provide a direction for future helicopter safety. This study will provide for future direction of helicopter safety research.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.218-232
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was aimed to describe Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) and analyze the flight nurses' activities in HEMS. Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from the air transportation reports that contained data of 168 patients transported by aircraft to G University medical center in Incheon since June, 2012 to March, 2013. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Average distance of flights was 44.0 km, duration of field treatment took 13.6 minutes, and duration of a flight from scene to hospital was 14.5 minutes. Nursing activities were categorized into 12 direct nursing activities and 5 nursing management activities, and a total number of 7806 nursing activities were occurred in HEMS. The most frequently performed nursing activity was measurement and monitoring (27.9%) followed by medication (11.5%) and respiratory management (8.7%). The most frequent nursing management were information management (11.0%). Nursing activities performed were significantly different depending on the patient's level of consciousness, cause of illness, crew configuration, and type of transportation. Conclusion: This study described HEMS nursing activities performed by flight nurses. Difference in nursing activities according to patient characteristics, crew configuration and type of transportation requires flight nurses to be prepared through educational programs to improve nursing activities and nursing management during air transportation.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.108-114
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• 2015

Purpose: To improve outcome of severe trauma patient, the shortening of transport time is needed. Although helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) is still a subject of debate, it must also be considered for trauma system. The aim of this study is to assess whether transport method (HEMS versus ground EMS) is associated with outcome among inter-hospital transport. Methods: All trauma patients transported to regional emergency center by either HEMS or ground EMS from September 2011 to September 2014. We have classified patients according to two groups by transport method. Age younger than 15 years and self-discharged patients were excluded. Results: A total of 427 patients were available for analysis during this period. 60 patients were transported by HEMS and 367 patients were transported by ground EMS. HEMS group had higher mortality than ground EMS group (23.3% vs 3.5%; p<0.001), and included more patients with excess mortality ratio adjusted injury severity score (EMR-ISS) above 25 (91.7% vs 48.8%; p<0.001). In the multivariable regression analysis, HEMS was not associated with improved outcome compared with ground EMS, but only EMR-ISS was associated with a mortality of patients (odds ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.09). Conclusion: In this study, helicopter emergency medical services transport was not associated with a decreased of mortality among the trauma patients who inter-hospital transported to the regional emergency center.