One year ago, MedFlight of Ohio was awarded the 2012 American EurocopterVision Zero Aviation Safety Award, a $10,000 prize given to assist the winning air medical transport program with developing safety initiatives.

MedFlight has put its prize to good use expanding its library of Safety Stories, a collection of online videos designed to serve as discussion points for air medical transport industry professionals. Started in 2009, the series features compelling stories from pilots, crewmembers, administrators and other medical professionals with personal safety stories to share.

“We want to share knowledge and lessons learned and this video series is a great way to accomplish that,” said Tom Allenstein, Chief Operating Officer of MedFlight of Ohio. “These stories are a way for air and ground medical professionals to tap into someone who has had similar issues or experiences. It covers all aspects of safety. What does safety look like, what does it feel like? What do you do when the unexpected happens?

“Safety is not proprietary,” Allenstein said. “We all need to find more ways to share experiences and to learn from one another. The more we share as an industry, the stronger we’ll be.”

The $10,000 Vision Zero prize money helped pay for about half of MedFlight’s production costs for eight new video segments, each running three to four minutes in length. There are 21 Safety Story segments already available online, with six more to be added soon. The series may be accessed through The Center for Medical Transport Research or at YouTube.

Formed through the merger of two competing hospital air medical programs, one of MedFlight’s consortium members was the first nonprofit urban hospital sponsored program in the U.S. to base ahelicopter in a rural community. The move effectively reduced response time for patients. MedFlight, which contracts with Metro Aviation for helicopter services, has safely transported more than 15,000 patients over the past 26 years.

For more information about Vision Zero and the American Eurocopter Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award, please visit the Association of Air Medical Services website at www.aams.org.

About American Eurocopter

American Eurocopter is the U.S. affiliate of Eurocopter, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world, and a subsidiary of EADS North America Holdings, the North American operations of EADS, a world leader in aerospace, defense and related services. American Eurocopter is a helicopter manufacturer and markets, sells and supports the broadest range of civil and parapublic helicopters offered by any manufacturer. Theproduct line represents the most cost-effective, technologically-advanced helicopters, ranging from light single to heavy twin aircraft, serving all markets and missions. American Eurocopter’s headquarters and main facility are in Grand Prairie, Texas with a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, Miss.