Helicopters to Nowhere : Problem with the trauma-care system isn’t lack of copters but lack of care

Air ambulances provide a valuable service. They’re a virtual aerial taxi service for emergency and trauma victims. These air taxis are used regularly to douse a raging fire or to lift an injured climber from remote areas. But let’s be clear: They are not the answer to what ails Los Angeles County’s trauma system.

City of Los Angeles fire officials have proposed that the city establish a 24-hour air ambulance service that would be used exclusively for emergency calls. Officials have estimated that they could cut emergency response time by about 10 minutes in the central city, where traumas due to violent crime and car accidents have been increasing. So, officials suggest, why not purchase a $2.6 million medical helicopter fully dedicated to emergency response?

Because, quite simply, a special medical emergency helicopter is the wrong answer to the wrong question. Lack of transportation, or even slow transportation, is not at the heart of the county’s emergency and medical care crisis.

The central issue is the need for seriously injured patients to have access to specialized trauma center care. Potential logistic and landing problems aside, a special air ambulance might be able to pick up a trauma victim faster--but to go where?

Almost half of the 23 Los Angeles County trauma centers have dropped out of the system. Some trauma centers, clamoring for what they expected would be high-prestige medicine and high-income business, discovered that all they had really gained was high-risks: As many as half of their patients could not pay their bills.

More than 5 million Californians are without health insurance. And last year, hospitals in this state spent $1.3 billion treating non-paying patients, losing another $2.8 billion providing care to government-funded patients.

A poorly financed and supported health-care system is at the root of the trauma care crisis in Los Angeles County. If only a super-helicopter could fix all that.