INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM

TEAAM’s Recent Dramatic and Possibly Life-saving Missions Show Value of HEMS Service to Resource and Wilderness Adventure Sectors

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A growing consortium of forest industry contractors and licensees is seeking stable funding for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) capable of providing emergency rescue and medical care for workers in remote worksites and camps across B.C.

Two lives may have been saved in two separate Technical Emergency Advanced Aeromedical (TEAAM) helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) missions flown in 2021 from their base in Squamish. One involved a forest worker with a cardiac medical emergency in a remote camp.

The other included hoisting a serious injured climber off a cliff face. With the cardiac patient land transportation might have been fatal in terms of distance and time. This risk was confirmed once emergency doctors saw him at the trauma hospital he was flown to by TEAAM.

In the case of the climber, with evening closing in, a night on the cliff with a traumatic fracture would have been disastrous. A TEAAM crew was able to hoist the patient off the cliff to care just before dark.

Both of the clients involved in these missions were TEAAM patrons. One of them had subscribed to the mission insurance plan organized by TEAAM saving them thousands of dollars in mission costs. Besides being able to rescue and deliver emergency medicine on site by air TEAAM also offers emergency consultation through their qualified air ops coordinators.

This service can provide both moral and medical support to first aid attendants in the field confronted with medical and trauma situations they may not be confident in assessing properly.

Even less serious injuries may warrant using TEAAM’s services. In a remote resource operation where an incident happens that doesn’t’ risk the loss of limb or life, it still might mean closing operations while the first-aider attends the transportation of a patient.

In this case it may be prudent and economical to have TEAAM attend and handle the incident. TEAAM operates three bases across the province including Squamish, Campbell River and Prince George. Click here for more information.

For more information about WFCA activities follow us on wfca.ca. To find out how you can join the WFCA and contribute to its efforts on behalf of the silviculture contracting and forestry consulting sector, contact the WFCA office at 604-736-8660.