The PennSTAR Flight Program began when the
Hospital
of the University of Pennsylvania recognized the need for
a safe, efficient and rapid means for transporting critically
ill patients to the Medical Center. Between late 1986 and mid-1988,
a management team was assembled under the leadership of C.William
Schwab MD, FACS, within the Division of Traumatology and Surgical
Critical Care. The goal of this team was to design, implement,
and evaluate the PennSTAR Flight Program.
After approval was received to begin the program an aviation
management company, US Jets (later bought by CJ Systems Aviation which
has most recently been acquired by Air Methods),
was selected to provide the aircraft, pilots
and a mechanic. During the spring of 1988, members of the flight
crew were hired and began classes in April. In May of 1988, the
communications staff was added and the program was staffed to
begin operations.
After months of preparation
and practice, the program began patient flights in the Summer
of 1988. The first patient flight was a scene in Valley Forge
National Park, requested by
Berwyn Fire Company and Medic 92 from
Chester County, PA. Since then PennSTAR has transported over 10,000
patients. In October of 1996, a further need was recognized and
a second helicopter was added. PennSTAR 1 is based at Wings Field
in Blue Bell, PA where it serves Montgomery Bucks and Chester
counties. In December of 1999, PennSTAR 3 began operations from
the Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, PA, serving
the Lehigh Valley and Pocono region. In March of 2000, PennSTAR
3 began operating the new AGUSTA 109 POWER. This state-of-the-art
aircraft decreased PennSTAR 3's response time with a cruise speed
of 170 MPH, and improved it's reliability and safety with instrument
flight capabilities in reduced visibility weather conditions.
In June of 2002, PennSTAR 2 was relocated to the Brandywine Airport
in West Chester, Pennsylvania. This move improved the program's
ability to provide medical coverage to Chester, Delaware and Montgomery
Counties. In April of 2003 PennSTAR 3 moved to their current location
in a large, fully equipped helicopter maintenance hangar
adjacent to the Northampton County 911 Center in Nazareth, Pa.
Read more about
the new facility opening here.
In October of 2005 
PennSTAR added it's fourth aircraft in conjunction
with the opening of a Level 2 Trauma Center at
The Reading Hospital and Medical Center.
PennSTAR 4 responds to calls from
Reading Regional Airport and serves Berks,
Lanscaster, Schulkyll, Lehigh, Montgomery and Lebanon counties
primarily. On September 15, 2006 PennSTAR 5 began operations from our
Carbon County Base. This base is placed into service with a brand new
EC-135. The ship was been chosen for its advanced
safety features such as Single Pilot Instrument Flight capability, Night Vision
Goggle compatability, and it's Terrain Avoidance and Warning System.
On March 18, 2006 PennSTAR 6 was placed into service With the purchase of
our third EC-135. PennSTAR 6 is to support the
Temple University Health System,
as well as the
University of Pennsylvania Health System
and our
University of Pennsylvania Trauma Network partners
St Lukes Hospital and
Health Network and
The Reading Hospital and Medical Center.
PennSTAR 6 is based at Wings Airport in Blue Bell, Pa.
The University of Pennsylvania flight service, now
provides emergency medical transportation with two
BK-117's, two
Agusta A109E Power's and three
Eurocopter EC-135's within an area that
covers five states (PA, DE, MD, NJ, and NY).
Unlike most flight programs, PennSTAR is part of the Division
of Traumatology and Surgical Critical Care and is integral component
of the
University of Pennsylvania Trauma System Network. Also unique
in the air medical industry, PennSTAR is one of a select few in
the nation that employs it's own Medical Command Physicians. There
are five physicians who provide on-line and off-line medical command,
and assure medical necessity of flight for interfacility patients
as well as pre-arrival medical consultations and treatment guidance
to referring institutions. They are all experienced attending
physicians, selected from critical care specialties including
anesthesia, pulmonary critical care, internal medicine, hyperbaric
and emergency medicine, and are intimately familiar with flight
operations. For added safety, all six PennSTAR bases are equipped
with real-time weather radar, including Doppler weather radar
feeds, which are continuously updated. This radar and weather
information can be accessed by PennCOMM (the PennSTAR Communications
Center) and relayed to the aircraft, if necessary. Additionally,
modern satellite tracking equipment is installed in the
aircraft that will provide "real-time" aircraft position reports
to Penn automatically during medical flights.
