Workforce shortages in the health care industry are dire - 1 in 5 health care workers are leaving the industry. From the exhaustion of fighting a deadly virus to long hours and low pay, the pain has been felt in emergency rooms, nursing homes, and everywhere else across the spectrum of care – including the air ambulance industry. Facilities and providers struggle to replace a workforce with such specialized skills and training and unfortunately for rural America, including areas of Colorado, the repercussions are amplified since much of the population relies on air ambulances to fill the gap as rural hospitals close at alarming rates and the nation faces a simultaneous dearth of trained pilots.
Air ambulance bases are staffed by EMTs, critical care nurses, and pilots who can operate fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircrafts. These “flying ICUs” provide a very high level of care in emergencies and help the millions of Americans who live more than thirty minutes from an emergency room and the 1 in 4 Americans who live more than an hour from a Level 1 or 2 trauma center access life-saving care. Because of the heavy reliance on air ambulances, rural America is facing the devastating effects of health care worker and pilot shortages both on the ground and in the skies throughout Colorado and beyond.
The issue is deadly serious.
Ninety percent of air ambulance transfers are for stroke, heart attack, or traumatic injury. Trauma doctors refer to the “Golden Hour” as the first hour after a traumatic injury because the right kind of medical care received during this critical window can lead to vastly better outcomes for the patient – saving their life or preserving brain function and future quality of life. Without air ambulance providers, Americans in rural areas have literally no way to get to trauma centers within this time-sensitive window.
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