Call 1-800-527-1200
All requests for service are coordinated through the MedLink AIR Communications Center at Gundersen Health System. Trained communications specialists are prepared to answer your call, connect you with a Gundersen emergency medicine physician, gather needed information, activate the flight team and coordinate services throughout transport.
Contact the MedLink AIR Communications Center at
1-800-527-1200. As soon as preliminary information is received, the MedLink AIR team is activated and airborne within minutes. Please contact your local hospital's emergency department for the appropriateness of transport when notifying MedLink AIR.
Patients
Patients who benefit from air transport are those who require the flight team's specialized, advanced life support skills, training or equipment to sustain life. Air transport is beneficial when:
- Complex cardiac or life-threatening conditions require specialized care or service not available at a local facility;
- Minimal out-of-hospital time is required; or
- Ground transportation would pose unnecessary high risk because of the severity of patient injury/illness, the level of care available, road/traffic conditions or lengthy transport times.
All transport requests for trauma are triaged by Gundersen emergency medicine physicians according to established American College of Surgeons (ACS) criteria for appropriateness. Emergency transport referrals are based solely on medical criteria, never on financial considerations.
Standby Requests
Call MedLink AIR at
1-800-527-1200. Requests for standby can be made when the need for MedLink AIR is not certain. Placing MedLink Air on standby allows the flight team to respond to the helicopter, verify map coordinates, check the weather and prepare for immediate departure if needed. "Standby" also can alert you if the aircraft is on another flight or temporarily out of service.
Intercepts
We have predetermined Helicopter Emergency Landing Points (H.E.L.P.) throughout the Tri-state Region to assist emergency medical services agencies in providing safe and rapid transport of critically ill or injured patients.
Weather
MedLink AIR pilots frequently update weather information so that decisions for safe flights may be made quickly. Call the MedLink AIR Communications Center and a decision can be made quickly based on the professional judgment of the MedLink AIR pilot and available resources. If MedLink AIR is unable to fly due to weather or maintenance, the flight team and equipment are available and will be offered for response by ground ambulance.