ShandsCair purchases EC155 B1 helicopter
American Eurocopter has announced that ShandsCair, the air medical and critical care transport system for Shands at the University of Florida, has purchased an EC155 B1.
The EC155 B1 will expand ShandsCair coverage area in North Central Florida and Southern Georgia. The aircraft, the first EC155 B1 in the ShandsCair fleet, will be based in Gainesville, Florida, along with the program’s existing EC135.
The EC155 B1 is being completed at Metro Aviation and is expected to be in service in December 2013.
“We made the decision to purchase the EC155 as we addressed long term range and long term safety of the aircraft,” said ShandsCair COO Ed Jimenez.
In addition to being more spacious and technologically advanced, ShandsCair will be able to service the entire state without stopping for additional fuel.
The ShandsCair aircraft operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a helicopter based in Gainesville and just south of Ocala, Florida, typically transporting patients from prehospital scenes within a 75-mile radius. Community hospital emergency rooms and ICU’s up to a 185-mile radius are also serviced by helicopter.
“We are pleased to once again provide our products and services to ShandsCair,” said American Eurocopter vice president of commercial sales and marketing, Treg Manning. “We are proud to enhance their capabilities with the large cabin, excellent speed, and long-range that the EC155 B1 provides.”
Photograph: ShandsCair Eurocopter EC135
