German EMS base “Christoph 41” marks 35 years at Leonberg

German EMS base “Christoph 41” marks 35 years at Leonberg

17-Jun-2021 Source: DRF Luftrettung,

In March 1973, “Christoph 41″ gave the go-ahead for the success story of the red and white lifesavers, which continues to this day, with a mission in the Stuttgart region. After a few intermediate stops, the machine found its home in June 1986 at the district hospital in Leonberg. Today the crew starts over 1,000 missions a year. The state-of-the-art machine has become an irreplaceable component in emergency rescue operations in the region and the people of Leonberg have grown dear to the heart as “their” rescue helicopter.

The red and white machine is ready from 7:00 a.m. to sunset and is up in the air in less than two minutes when the alarm beeps. Dirk Gockeler, an emergency paramedic at the Leonberg station for many years and also its head since 2020, emphasizes how important the helicopter is for the region: “As with all helicopters of the DRF Luftrettung, internal diseases are one of the main alarm reasons for ‘Christoph 41’ like heart attack and stroke . Just as with life-threatening multiple injuries that often occur in traffic or work accidents, every minute counts for the survival and later as complete recovery of the patient as possible . ”

The helicopter often offers a decisive time advantage, especially in difficult traffic conditions or in remote areas.
Dirk Gockeler, paramedic and station manager of “Christoph 41”

But the crew also flies unusual missions again and again, remembers Dirk Gockeler: “Once the colleagues were alerted to a child who suddenly had to cough and choke terribly while grilling in the garden at home and spat blood. The trigger was a mystery, but the kid was definitely not doing well. We immediately took the boy with us to the children’s clinic, where it turned out that a bristle of a grill brush had gotten into his throat with the food without being noticed. The child could then be helped quickly, but without the rapid deployment of ‘Christoph 41’ it would have been very dangerous due to the risk of bleeding. ”

Speed ​​and quality characterize the work of DRF Luftrettung, but another aspect is very important to the experienced air rescuer: Rescuing people is teamwork . The three team members in the helicopter, pilot, emergency doctor and paramedic, must be able to rely on each other completely. Therefore, everyone regularly trains not only their technical knowledge and skills, but also working together in a team. “And then of course you shouldn’t forget that we depend on good cooperation with our partners on site and in the region,” continues Dirk Gockeler. “Therefore, on this occasion, a big thank you goes to everyone who goes hand in hand every dayGive everything with us to save people. In particular to the ground-based rescue services, the fire brigades, the police and colleagues in the hospitals and clinics. ”

The Leonberg station

“Christoph 41” is mainly requested in the districts of Böblingen, Stuttgart, Rems-Murr, Schwäbisch-Hall, Heilbronn, Göppingen, Ludwigsburg, Pforzheim, Calw, Tübingen, Reutlingen and Esslingen. The Leonberger rescue helicopter has an eventful history of deployment. As the first rescue helicopter of the DRF Luftrettung , “Christoph 41” has been ensuring air rescue in the greater Stuttgart area since 1973. After changing positions in Ruit, Böblingen, Ludwigsburg and Marbach, he found his permanent home on June 1, 1986 at the Leonberg district hospital. During the first few years, air rescue in Leonberg was ensured with a rescue helicopter of the type BO 105, which was later followed by a helicopter of the type BK 117. In 1996, one of the world’s first was in LeonbergEC135 helicopter put into operation.

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