North Flight Aero Med Adds New Helicopter to Its Fleet

Sikorsky S-76 C++ is the new primary air ambulance helicopter

April 10, 2024

Grand Rapids and Traverse City, Mich., April 8, 2024 – North Flight Aero Med, a joint operation between Corewell Health^TM (formerly Spectrum Health) and Munson Healthcare, has added a Sikorsky S-76 C++ helicopter to its fleet.

The aircraft will be available to the media on Tuesday, April 9, from 12:45 to 2:45 p.m. at the North Flight Aero Med Hangar at 1840 Stultz Drive, Traverse City, Mich., 49686.

This aircraft is the new primary helicopter for the air ambulance operator in northern Michigan, replacing its former Sikorsky S-76 B helicopter. It operates from a base located in Traverse City with three aircraft: a King Air B250 airplane, a King Air B200 airplane and the new Sikorsky helicopter. The joint venture provides emergency critical care air transport across northern Michigan and into neighboring states.

“This new helicopter will enable us to continue to serve the northern Michigan community for many years to come,” said Tiffany Obetts, director, Corewell Health Aero Med & North Flight Aero Med. “The investment our two organizations make in this crucial infrastructure ensures we can continue our mission to be a leader in providing exceptional critical care air transport in Michigan.”

The new Sikorsky S-76 C++ will have improved fuel efficiency, state-of-the-art avionics and certified IFR (instrument flight rules) capability. Its’ clinical capabilities include blood products, specialty medications, high flow nasal cannula, cardiac device transport and neonatal transports.

“Munson Healthcare provides coverage across more than 11,000 square miles which is roughly the size of Delaware and Vermont combined,” said Aditya Neravetla, M.D., Munson Healthcare East Region chief medical officer and medical director of system transfers. “Ongoing investments like this one are vital to ensuring northern Michigan’s most critically ill patients and babies receive timely transport to Munson Medical Center or other facilities downstate.”

The new helicopter will also feature a new stretcher system created in collaboration with outside vendors Spectrum Aeromed (Fargo, S.D.) and Stryker (Kalamazoo, Mich.).

North Flight Aero Med added the King Air B250 to its fleet in March 2023 and Corewell Health Aero Med added a Sikorsky S-76 C++ helicopter to its fleet last May. Aero Med first incorporated the Sikorsky S-76 model in its operation in 1994.

“With speeds up to 180 mph and a range of 300 miles, the S-76 safely and reliably transports hundreds of patients all over Michigan each year,” Obetts said.

 

About North Flight Aero Med

North Flight Aero Med (NFAM) is a partnership between Corewell Health and Munson Healthcare providing critical care air ambulance across northern Michigan. Aviation services are provided by Spectrum Health Hospitals, responsible for control of all flight operations and staffing of flight crew and mechanics.

 

About Corewell Health

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 65,000+ dedicated people—including more than 12,000 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 15,500 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

 

About Munson Healthcare

Rated as one of the nation’s Top 15 Health Systems by Fortune/Premier Inc., Munson Healthcare is a non-profit serving over 500,000 people across Northern Michigan. Among its eight hospitals, Cadillac Hospital and Munson Medical Center, a 442-bed regional referral center located in Traverse City, have earned a Five-Star Rating from the Centers for Medicare of Medicaid Services. Munson is committed to providing its communities across the region with high-level outpatient services and specialized cardiac, oncology, neonatal, orthopedic, and neuro care, including Northern Michigan’s first and only Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Contact:
Tim Hawkins
Media Relations
Office: 616.486.6091
Mobile: 616.443.0361
Email: timothy.hawkins@corewellhealth.org