[electronic translation] In June 2008, “Christoph 39” from Perleberg in Brandenburg started its first rescue mission. At that time, the ADAC rescue helicopter was stationed at the Prignitz district hospital in order to close a previously gaping gap in the air rescue network. This Saturday, the ADAC Luftrettungsstation in Perleberg celebrates its tenth anniversary. The festival will be opened by Frédéric Bruder, Managing Director of the non-profit ADAC Luftrettung, Katrin Lange, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior and the Local Government of Brandenburg, Prignitzer Landrat Torsten Uhe and Karsten Krüger, Managing Director of the Kreiskrankenhaus Prignitz.

Until the commissioning of “Christoph 39” the regions around Perleberg had been disadvantaged in the rescue service support by air rescue. The ADAC rescue helicopter was therefore a great asset for the inhabitants of the sparsely populated areas of the Prignitz and rural regions of northwest Brandenburg, as these could now be supplied faster and better emergency medical care. In addition, the location is in the four-country corner: Also destinations in Mecklenburg, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt are served. Emergency rescue knows no state borders.

There is a lot to celebrate for the birthday of “Christoph 39”. Since the maiden flight of the ADAC Luftrettung helicopter, around 10,000 missions have been completed. Last year alone, the rescue helicopter was alerted 1,023 times. The numbers underline one thing above all else: “Christoph 39” represents a marked improvement and a significant relief for the ground-based rescue service in the rural region of Brandenburg. The EC135 helicopter is in the air after about an emergency call in about two minutes Able to reach any location within 50 miles in about 15 minutes.

Interior Secretary Katrin Lange emphasized: “With the help of ‘Christoph 39’ human lives are being saved. He guarantees that people who have been accidentally or acutely ill will receive medical care in the sparsely populated northwest of the country. The past ten years have shown what a strong and reliable partner ADAC Luftrettung is in the supply system in northwestern Brandenburg. The helicopter crew is my heartfelt thanks. ”

A total of 20 team members are working at the Perleberg location – 14 emergency physicians from the Prignitz district hospital as well as from the region, three paramedics / emergency paramedics and three ADAC Luftrettung pilots. A crew consists of one pilot, one paramedic and one ambulance. The helicopter starts daily at sunrise, at the earliest at 7 o’clock. The coordination of the operations takes place via the regional control center northwest in Potsdam.

The ADAC Luftrettung is the builder and financier of the station. “Reliability and safety have their value in the rescue service,” Frédéric Bruder, managing director of ADAC Luftrettung, emphasized, again warning against submitting to the dictates of the price in tenders for rescue services. “It must not be the cheapest offer in the foreground, it counts the optimal care of the patient,” he clarifies also at the ceremony in Perleberg.

The number one cause of action in the rescue operations in 2017 in and around Perleberg was with 57 percent internal medical emergencies such as acute cardiovascular diseases, followed by neurological emergencies (strokes) with 17 percent. Eight percent of the missions were attributed to traffic accidents and five percent to recreational and sports accidents. Four percent each were due to domestic accidents and child emergency situations.