Advancing U.S. Coast Guard in-flight medical care within Alaska

The U.S. Coast Guard plays an extremely vital role in the missions to transport critically ill or injured persons from both marine and shore-based environments around the state. For a time, the level of inflight care provided by the Coast Guard sufficed the needs imposed on the service; however, in recent years, Coast Guard operators have noted an increase in being unable to internally provide the appropriate level of in-flight care required for the patient being transported. Being unable to meet these needs has imposed new burdens onto medical evacuation missions that are costing the service in terms time and risk mitigation. This project outlines an effective way to increase the level of in-flight care provided by the Coast Guard in order to maintain its superiority as the leading maritime search and rescue entity with Alaska and the world.