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Mercy Life Line
Mercy Air Medical Services
Mercy Springfield Communities is bringing faster, safer health care to those who need it in an emergency with our Life Line air medical services. Life Line operates five H135P2+ helicopters with upgraded technology which will allow pilots to fly in weather conditions they previously could not have faced. All flights are conducted by and operational control over all aircraft is exercised solely by Metro Aviation, Inc.
About Mercy Life Line
Our team consists of an outstanding group of nurses, physicians, medics, flight communications specialists, pilots, mechanics and support personnel. Thanks to this impressive group of dedicated team members as well as our referring institutions and EMS partners, we are proud of our successful history and look forward to many more years serving our community.
Our flight crews include a registered nurse, a paramedic and a pilot who responds to life-threatening emergencies including trauma, medical, or obstetrical. Crews respond to an emergency scene, where a ground unit assists the crew, or to a hospital to transfer a critically ill patient. Life Line is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems.
CAMTS Accreditation
Life Line has been awarded full reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) for its rotor wing services. The CAMTS accreditation status is one of the most prestigious industry designations and extends across the entire Life Line program throughout Arkansas and Missouri.
With reaccreditation required every three years, Life Line has been a CAMTS accredited program since 2006. The most recent accreditation has been awarded from April 1, 2024, to April 1, 2027.
CAMTS is dedicated to improvements in the quality of patient care and overall safety, specifically related to services providing rotor wing, fixed wing and ground medical transport systems. Air medical programs that apply for the CAMTS accreditation are held to a rigorous set of guidelines and standards, including:
- Medical direction
- Crew education
- Communications
- Safety
- Documentation
- Quality improvement
The accreditation process includes a complete document review and on-site inspection over the course of several days.
Mercy Life Line has provided safe, rapid air transport for emergency patients since 1984. Serving patients in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
About Life Line Helicopters
Mercy Life Line operates H135P2+ single-pilot instrument flight rules (IFR) capable twin-engine helicopters, the region’s only IFR flight program. These aircraft feature the latest technology for flight under IFR weather conditions for improved safety during inclement weather. Our helicopter features include:
- Satellite weather
- Night Vision Goggles (NVG)
- Technisonic FM radios with UHF, VHF, 700/800 MHz capabilities
- Specialty Services include neonatal and intra-aortic balloon pump
- On-board weather radar
- Autopilot
- Helicopter Terrain Awareness Warning System (HTAWS)
- Traffic Avoidance Collision System (TACS)
- Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) - the ability to operate helicopter under IFR increase their utility and safety
New Life Line Helicopter GPS Capabilities
Mercy’s medical helicopters can now fly more often and in more varied weather conditions, thanks to their own private airspace navigation system developed by Mercy Life Line. This gives Life Line helicopters the ability to respond to requests for transport by giving their pilots the ability land at select hospitals in weather that most air medical programs would not be able to fly in.
The Federal Aviation Administration approved the final phase of a low-level Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) plan, which connects eight regional hospitals and Life Line base locations in Missouri and Arkansas and allows the Mercy Life Line helicopters to fly in a wider range of weather conditions. Mercy is the first health system in the region to develop a fully integrated, private, low-level hospital helipad GPS route structure.
Mercy Life Line has been accident-free since our inception in 1984 and this technology further strengthens our commitment to safety, for our patients and our crews. Our dedicated pilots have trained tirelessly to make our program the safest in the area. These approaches will be an additional tool in our safety program. Life Line operates four Airbus H135 single-pilot IFR helicopters in the region.