Altru Health System Starts New Air Emergency Medical Service

Grand Forks, N.D. – Altru Health System will launch Altru Care Flight, an air ambulance transport program to serve the patients of Altru Health System and the region.

A Pilatus PC 12 fixed-wing aircraft will anchor the new service and be located at the Grand Forks Regional Airport. The air ambulance will be equipped with the latest and most advanced lifesaving equipment and critical care trained medical staff composed of paramedics and registered nurses to safely transport patients to their next medical destination. Altru Care Flight can transport patients at a greater rate of speed, through challenging weather conditions, has space for additional passengers, and will provide the industry-leading health care that Altru Health System is known for at a more reasonable cost than helicopter medical transports.

Brad Wehe, CEO states, “Altru Health System has a long history of providing quality care to the residents of our region. We are now making it more convenient to rapidly transport patients. With one call, Altru can provide a state-of-the-art emergency medical transport solution staffed by a team of highly trained emergency medical specialists.”

Dr. Christopher Boe, medical director of Altru Care Flight and emergency medicine physician at Altru says, “The staff and physicians at Altru are pleased that we will serve as home base for this new transport service. We are committed to providing our patients with the highest quality of care in emergency situations and Altru Care Flight allows us to extend this commitment further into the region.”

Altru Care Flight services will tentatively begin operation on April 1, 2019.

About Altru Health System

Based in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Altru Health System is a regional, integrated healthcare delivery system serving northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Altru is a physician-led, multi-specialty group practice with a 277-bed acute care hospital, Level II trauma center, 45-bed specialty hospital, more than two dozen Grand Forks and regional practice locations, and a large home care network. Altru employs over 300 physicians and advanced practice providers and 4,000 staff. With a focus on advanced technology, Altru deployed the first Mako® Robotic Arm system in North Dakota and enhanced Altru’s Robotics with the recent addition of the DaVinci Xi Robotic Surgical System. In 2018, Altru was awarded fourth Most Wired® in the nation, a recognition for systems at the forefront of using healthcare information technology to improve the delivery of care. Altru Health System has received accreditation from the Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation, and has achieved 50 years of CARF accreditation at Altru’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital. Altru Health System was the first member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, extending Mayo Clinic knowledge and expertise to the patients we serve. For more information, visit altru.org.