SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., ― Regional West Medical Center’s Air Link air ambulance service announces the arrival of the new Bell 407GXi helicopter.

Introduced in 2018, the Bell 407GXi is the fourth generation and newest version of the widely-used helicopter. The new 407GXi enhances customer value through improved safety, reliability, and lower direct maintenance costs. Air Link’s helicopter is maintained and operated by Med-Trans Corporation.

“As the only Level II Trauma Center in Nebraska, west of Kearney, the Air Link program is vital to providing the region’s emergency trauma care,” said John Mentgen, president and CEO of Regional West Health Services. “This is an exciting day as we continue to offer the latest in technology to our crew and patients throughout the region.”

As of July 2022, Air Link is one of four CAMTS (Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems)-accredited medical transport programs in Nebraska and has been accredited since 2004. Nationwide, 164 programs have earned CAMTS accreditation.

“The Bell 407GXi helicopter offers an Enhanced Avionics Suite featuring high-definition LCD screens paired with advanced processing equipment to provide a hyperspectral imaging system (HSI), mapping technology, and synthetic vision which provides necessary information to increase the situational awareness, while easing the workload of pilots,” said Peter Meyer, MD, Air Link medical director and a Regional West Physicians Clinic Emergency Medicine physician.

The helicopter also features a Rolls Royce M250-C47E/4 engine with a dual Channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system, providing four redundancy levels for increased safety and reliability. The flight deck further incorporates a traffic information system (TIS), a helicopter terrain avoidance warning system (HTAWS), tail rotor camera displays, a moving map, XM satellite weather, and Garmin helicopter synthetic vision technology (HSVT). All while reducing exhaust emissions due to efficiencies in the new engine.

Air Link has been integral to Regional West’s Trauma Services program since November 1995. Air Link staff includes highly trained pilots, flight nurses, and flight paramedics who provide monitoring, critical care intervention, and advanced life support procedures to critically ill or injured adult and pediatric patients. The program operates throughout a five-state region, including Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas, and Colorado.

Under FAA Part 135, Air Link also flies a Pilatus PC-12 airplane maintained and operated by Guardian Flight.

Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff, Neb., is the parent company of Regional West Medical Center, a 188-bed regional referral center and the only Level II Trauma Center in Nebraska west of Kearney. As the region’s only tertiary referral medical center, Regional West offers care that spans more than 32 medical specialties provided by over 28 physician clinics. With nearly 300 in-network providers and approximately 2,000 staff members, Regional West provides comprehensive and innovative health care services for the people of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming.