Jonathan “JR” Roebuck, who led the creation of the Remote Access Project for Maine-based critical care transport company LifeFlight, will receive the HAI Salute to Excellence Airbus Helicopters Golden Hour Award. The award will be presented at the Salute to Excellence Awards dinner during Heli-Expo in Las Vegas.
Operating in Maine, LifeFlight maneuvres around intricate aviation environment. Previously, it could take up to eight hours for a patient to reach a hospital from remote areas. Through the Remote Access Project, Roebuck established 120 remote access landing zones (LZs) on private land. These LZs provide helicopters with space to land in remote areas, cutting the time it takes to bring a patient to the hospital.
In one case, the Remote Access Project helped LifeFlight rescue an injured snowmobiler. Responders dispatched a helicopter to collect a woman who crashed her snowmobile into a 40-foot ravine. The helicopter reached the nearest LZ, which was just 50 yards from the woman. Without the Remote Access Project LZ, it would have taken LifeFlight much longer to reach the woman and tend her to critical injuries.
LifeFlight has worked with state and local organizations as well as clubs to establish LZs. According to the company, large signs displaying the site’s unique GPS coordinates have been placed at more than 40 of the 120 established LZs. Roebuck continues to manage the Remote Access Project for LifeFlight, as well as for MedComm.