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New helicopter pad sees action
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Posted on Mar 29 1999
TINIAN — Tinian Heath Center’s new heliport saw its first action on Friday, March 26, as Macaw Helicopters flew two missions from the facility.
Macaw’s JetRanger Air Ambulance flew two patients directly from the heliport to the Saipan Health Center’s heliport. Flight time between the two facilities was about ten minutes.
Before the CNMI had helicopter Air Ambulance service, people in Rota, Tinian, and the northern islands faced life-threatening time delays when needing emergency treatment in Saipan’s Health Center.
“The Commonwealth’s air ambulance infrastructure is getting better,” said Mike Cunningham, president of Macaw. He congratulated the Tinian Health Center on completion of its heliport, which he described as “a first class facility that will enable us to serve the people of Tinian even better.”
“Our ability to go direct, hospital-to- hospital, or accident scene-to-hospital, is saving lives,” Cunningham said. He said the jet-powered helicopter can fly up to 150 miles per hour, and “there are no traffic jams or red lights in the air. We can fly a patient from Tinian to Saipan in less time than it takes to drive a few blocks on Middle Road during rush hour.”
Macaw has trained a number of Commonwealth Health Center nurses in Air Ambulance procedures, and these nurses attend patients in the helicopter during the flight. The helicopter is also equipped with a medical oxygen system.
Cunningham, who was also the pilot for Friday’s missions, said he was “impressed with the new heliport at the Tinian Health Center. We could–and occasionally did–operate from their old landing area (at the health center), but the new heliport is a real improvement. It’s a valuable life-line for Tinian residents.”
Macaw is the only Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Air Ambulance company in all of Micronesia. “Everyone involved in the Air Ambulance program takes a lot of pride in it,” said Cunningham, “because we’re saving lives.”
