From October 22-24, HAI staff represented the interests of the international helicopter community at the 2012 Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Wash.

AMTC is specifically designed to educate, inform, and to supply up to the minute information on the latest techniques and innovative approaches to emergency medical transport practice. The conference offers more than 150 education sessions covering topics in a variety of disciplines including safety, core clinical, specialty clinical, management, aviation, research, and communications. In addition to education sessions, AMTC features more than 120 companies displaying products and services directly applicable to air and critical care ground medicine.

Representing HAI were Safety Director Stan Rose; Derek McGuire from the Membership department; and Steve Champness, HAI sales rep.

Day one afforded a great opportunity for members of the close-knit medical transport community to catch up with friends and make new acquaintances. HAI is proud of its HEMS members, and is committed to reaching out at events such as these to advise on safety issues and to hear the concerns of its members – even attracting new members to the association in the process.

On the second day, the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) Safety Committee sponsored its annual Joint Safety Committee meeting where representatives from various safety groups spoke about their current initiatives. Stan Rose briefed the group on the HAI Accreditation Program (HAI-AP), a voluntary program that helps helicopter operators reduce accident rates and improve their safety cultures; Enhanced Synthetic Vision Systems; and the Rotor Safety Challenge. Debuting at HELI-EXPO 2013, the Rotor Safety Challenge provides a convenient and economical way to learn industry best practices and safety tools and techniques. Other groups in attendance included the FAA, AMOA, HEMSPA, and CAMTS.