Air ambulance — airplane and helicopter

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service operates a licensed airplane and helicopter ambulances flown by professional pilots and staffed with highly-trained paramedics, nurses, respiratory therapists, pediatric and neonatal specialists, perfusionists, and physicians who provide care to people with complex health conditions from scenes of injury and during transfer from hospital to hospital. Flying is optional for the EMS fellow, but highly encouraged.

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service helicopter

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service emergency medical helicopters provide high-level critical care and rapid transportation. A helicopter can be in flight within minutes of dispatch, 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Mayo Clinic medical helicopters fly nearly 2,000 flights a year.

Mayo Clinic is currently in the process of updating its helicopters, replacing them with the new Airbus H145-D3 aircraft.

Helicopters fly within a 150-mile (241-kilometer) radius of bases at:

• Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN)
• Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (Eau Claire, WI)
• Mankato Regional Airport (Mankato, MN)

Mobile ER/ICU

The staff, medical equipment, and medications on board Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service helicopters make them mobile emergency departments (EDs) equipped to handle nearly anyone with serious trauma injuries or a critical illness. All Mayo Clinic helicopters carry a portable lab analyzer that measures arterial or venous blood gases, electrolytes, hemoglobin, lactate, and INR levels. Packed red blood cells (three units), thawed plasma (three units), whole blood (two units), and platelets (one unit) are available for every flight and can be administered inflight or at the referring hospital. Mayo Clinic air ambulance crews also receive training on portable ultrasound (POCUS) and helicopters are staffed with Lumify portable ultrasound machines.

Mayo Clinic's medical airplane

Destinations

Mayo Clinic's medical airplane flies our patient care team throughout the United States and parts of Canada. The team safely brings patients to Mayo Clinic, other healthcare facilities or to their homes after care. The teams aboard Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service's aircraft have transported patients to Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, from the 48 contiguous United States.

The air ambulance airplane is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Beechcraft Textron King Air 350C

• Cruising speed: 310 knots (357 mph)
• Seating capacity: One patient plus seating for the medical team (including specialists) and passengers as the patient's condition dictates
• Engine type: Twin turboprop jet engines

International air transport

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service staff can assist in coordinating transport worldwide, bringing patients to Mayo Clinic campuses in Minnesota, Arizona, or Florida; other healthcare facilities; or to their home areas, when possible. Our team has helped transport patients from Chile, France, Greece, Holland, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Monaco, New Zealand, Oman, Portugal, Venezuela, and many other international sites.