So Now You Know! #6
So Now You Know! #6 – When we say “air medical has been canceled”, that means one of two things. Either the FD/EMS at the scene did not need the helicopter (lack in severity of injuries, no urgency, etc) or the incident involves a fatality. Units will place CareFlite, PHI, or Air Evac on standby when responding to an incident. After assessing the incident, the units will advise to launch air medical or stand down/cancel air medical. Most of the time, air medical is canceled due to lack in severity of injuries and no real sense of urgency. But some of the time, air medical is also canceled due to fatality (s).
Example: 1) Motorcycle accident today in Denton County. CareFlite was on standby but canceled due to lack of severe injuries. 2) Vehicle fire today in far north Fort Worth. CareFlite was canceled due to fatalities.
So now you know when we say “air medical has been canceled” that good either be a good thing or a bad thing, but mostly good!
