On March 1, Ascent Helicopters Ltd. (Ascent), with the support of their sub-contractor Babcock Canada (Babcock), achieved a significant key milestone through the commencement of providing helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) on behalf of British Columbia Emergency Health Services (BCEHS). The BCEHS contract will have five operating bases in Parksville, Vancouver, Kamloops, Prince George, and Prince Rupert.
Initial Operations are taking place at Ascent’s operating base in Parksville and will utilize the first Leonardo AW169 to deliver operations in Canadian skies. The state-of-the art aircraft has been designed specifically for HEMS operations and is fitted with advanced technologies that will better support service delivery and the needs of the medics onboard. Significant modifications have been made and will ensure efficient patient transportation in a short amount of time, ultimately providing better patient care and helping to save lives.
The first medical flight under contract to utilize the Leonardo AW169 took place on March 5th.
The entire process has been a significant team effort led-by BCEHS and Ascent, with the support of Babcock, Leonardo Helicopters, and HeliMods, to achieve operational capabilities. The ramp-up of operations has included:
- sourcing, designing, and developing five operating bases, including 3 purpose-built facilities,
- provisioning the first three of seven brand-new Leonardo AW169 aircraft,
- the engagement of many new staff members including: 11 Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, 6 Crew Chiefs, and 15 pilots, with more to come,
- and state-of-the-art aircraft modifications.
Throughout the process, all organizations were driven and motivated by BCEHS’s goal of providing modern, reliable, and mission ready air ambulance services for citizens across British Columbia.
“We are profoundly grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the well-being of our community by providing the state-of-the-art Leonardo AW169 helicopters. In the first few days of service, our new helicopter has performed to the high expectations we have held. We have seen faster patient transfer times both in the air and on the ground with times at the hospital cut down significantly with the new stretcher loading system alleviating the need for additional ground-based paramedic crews and all but eliminating the danger of paramedic back injuries during loading. We are looking forward to the years to come and the significant impact this will make on our communities.” – Chad Friesen, Chief Pilot, Ascent Helicopters Ltd.
“Babcock Canada is delighted to be supporting Ascent Helicopters in their delivery of critical helicopter emergency medical services. We are proud to support the communities in which we live and work and are committed to ensuring that British Columbia’s fleet of Leonardo AW169’s are mission ready when the citizens of British Columbia need them most.” – Matthew Crawley, VP – Aviation & Land, Babcock Canada.
Full operations will commence this summer and will utilize seven Leonardo AW169 helicopters.
