Mayo Clinic Aircraft Receive Top Accreditation.

ROCHESTER, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1998--Mayo MedAir and Mayo One -- the medical air transport services of Mayo Clinic -- have achieved full accreditation with commendation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS).

Mayo MedAir, a long-distance national and international air ambulance service uses a 1997 Beechcraft King Air 200 for most domestic flights. Mayo MedAir is staffed by medical teams made up of Mayo Clinic medical professionals who treat adult and pediatric patients -- nurses, neonatal and pediatric specialists, paramedics, respiratory therapists and physicians who are selected based on the patient's needs.

Mayo One is an emergency medical helicopter service, with helicopters based in Rochester, Minn., and Eau Claire, Wis.

To become accredited, Mayo Clinic's medical air transport services were evaluated on safety standards, education, equipment, staffing, communications, maintenance and administration. CAMTS noted three areas of excellence for Mayo One: medical education for staff, quality equipment and facilities, and excellent communications among staff.

"CAMTS is regarded as the industry's most respected stamp-of-approval for all aspects of air safety and quality," said Scott Zietlow, M.D., chair of Mayo Medical Transport. "Patients in the Upper Midwest, across the nation and around the world can and should use CAMTS' accreditation as a way to judge the quality and safety of air medical transport services."

Mayo MedAir is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Domestic flights can be airborne within 45 minutes. The medical equipment and medications on board make Mayo MedAir a mobile intensive care unit, equipped to handle nearly any patient who is moderately to critically ill. The in-flight team is supported by a team of specialists and critical-care physicians from Mayo Clinic. Mayo MedAir transports patients to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and back home or to any medical facility in the world. Over 1,000 patients have been transferred by Mayo MedAir in the past three years.

Mayo One, an emergency medical helicopter service, provides high-level critical care and rapid transportation 24 hours a day, everyday. Mayo One flies within a 200-mile radius of bases at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and at Luther Hospital -- part of Mayo Health System -- in Eau Claire, Wis. Separated by 95 miles, the two bases allow Mayo One to serve much of southern Minnesota, western Wisconsin and northern Iowa. Mayo One helicopters make more than 1,200 flights a year.

For more information on Mayo Medical Transport, see http://www.mayo.edu/mmt. For more information on CAMTS, see http://www.camts.org.

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