In the United States today, most airborne medevac ambulance services are provided by private operators. Many hospitals will contract out their helicopter services to one of several major corporations that will provide the hospital with helicopter services for both on-scene and inter-hospital transports. The obvious advantage of airborne medical transport is speed, particularly in rural areas. In emergency medicine, doctors and nurses speak of the "golden hour" for a trauma victim. This golden hour: represents the first hour after an accident, when survival rates are significantly increased IF the patient reaches definitive medical care within the first hour of the accident. Clearly in many areas of the United States, the only possible way to transport a critical patient within the "golden hour" is by helicopter. Airborne medical transports are not confined to trauma patients. There are many specialized cases such as burns, pediatrics, neo-natal and cases requiring a hyperbaric chamber that all benefit from a rapid response to a specialized facility.

The Maryland State Police (MSP) was the very first non-military agency to medevac a victim in the United States when they transported a patient in a Bell JetRanger aircraft in 1970. Driven by the efforts of Dr. R. Adams Cowley, the state of Maryland established a largely successful trauma response system, of which the MSP Aviation Command was a cornerstone. Today, the Maryland State Police are regarded as one of the premier police/medevac operators in the world. Unfortunately, tragedy can strike the best, and they are currently recovering from a fatal medevac crash in September. To further compound this tragedy, the MSP Aviation Command has come under fire, fueled largely by politics and media misinformation. Recently, the MSP Aviation Section received worldwide positive media coverage as they rescued motorists from a flash flood caused by a water main break. The rescues were seen live on the national news networks.

Airborne Law Enforcement Medevacs

Although private operators do the bulk of the medevac transports, there are still many agencies that still perform this lifesaving mission full time. The Maryland State Police, the Nassau County (NY) Police Department, the Fairfax (VA) Police Department, the United States Park Police Aviation Unit, the Orange County (FL) Sheriff’s Office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office are just a few of the agencies performing these missions daily. Most airborne law enforcement units staff their aircraft with a tactical flight officer that is also certified as a paramedic. They perform "double duty" and assist with the specialized equipment such as FLIR, night sun etc. during a police mission and switch to the lifesaving role during a medevac mission.