title: Briefing notes on emergency medical disembarks by helicopter at sea in North America.
abstract: Physicians and nurses from shore based practice who move to work on cruise ships often have concerns about the management of critically ill patients and questions about the resources available to transfer by helicopter to a tertiary care facility. This article seeks to outline some of the clinical, operational and logistical issues associated with using a helicopter to transfer a patient from a ship to a shore-side hospital. While it focuses on resources available in the maritime areas around North America, most of the clinical comments would apply to helicopter evacuations anywhere in the world.
authors.affiliation: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, Miami, Florida, USA. stevewilliams@rccl.com.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Eilif
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dahl
mesh_terms: D000401:Aircraft; D003657:Decision Making; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009326:Naval Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009656:North America; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012767:Ships; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods; D000078329:Workforce