MARATHON, Fla. — Two years after funding was approved, the Florida Keys are getting a new fleet of Trauma Star helicopters.
Two of the three Leonardo AW139 helicopters arrived last week to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office aviation hangar in Marathon.
The choppers are larger, faster, and have more lift than the aging fleet about to be taken out of service.
With no trauma hospitals in the Florida Keys, which continues to see an influx of people, the 100-mile-plus island chain relies on helicopters to get patients out quickly.
“This community, more than any community, relies on these helicopters,” said Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “Yes, we have three hospitals, but they’re rural. Limited in what they can do.”
Even though Monroe County has a fraction of the population of neighboring Miami-Dade, it averages the same number of air rescues: about 1,300 a year.
Ramsay said it’s one of the busiest air ambulance programs in the country.
The sheriff’s office says the current fleet can get a patient from the Lower Keys to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in about 47 minutes. It’s about a 27-minute ride from the Middle Keys and 17 minutes from the Upper Keys.
Pilots expect the new fleet to shave off several minutes from those numbers.
“We’re always worried about what’s called the golden hour. It’s that hour that determines whether you’re going to live or die,” Ramsay said.
In the cockpit, there are state-of-the-art display modes and screens to simulate the surrounding terrain.
In the cabin, there is room for paramedics and a flight nurse to deliver critical care to a patient.
Commissioners approved the $52 million purchase in 2023, which came from the infrastructure penny sales tax.
The helicopters are expected to be put in service by October.
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