Training, technology and networking took center stage at the 2023 ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference from Oct. 2 to 4 at the Paradise Point Resort on Mission Bay in San Diego, California.
The event attracted over 500 public safety aviation professionals representing the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) community, law enforcement operators, and civil/parapublic search-and-rescue (SAR) organizations throughout North America.
Sponsored by more than 40 industry leaders, including Bell, Airbus, Leonardo, Collins Aerospace, FLIR, Trakka Systems, Gibson & Barnes and Macro Blue Tactical Cockpit Displays, the conference served as a vital nexus for learning, networking, and unveiling cutting-edge public safety aviation technology.
In a notable display of support, prominent air medical flight programs and HEMS operators like Air Methods, Metro Aviation, Lifeflight of Maine, PHI Air Medical, and Duke Life Flight participated as sponsors and exhibitors and to provide attendees valuable insights into operator culture and career opportunities.
The conference was inaugurated by a thought-provoking keynote presentation delivered by Terry Miyauchi, public safety segment manager at Bell Helicopters, who presented his perspective on the future of aviation in the realm of public safety.
Workshops, training and exhibits
The conference featured a series of workshops ECHO organizers described as “two days of hands-on immersive experiences for critical care providers, leaders, and rescue operators.”
Notable workshops included two sessions of emergency underwater egress training — one by SR3 Rescue Concepts, and the other by The Rescue Company 1 (TRC1). These courses offered attendees a simulated experience of water emergencies and life-saving and self-rescue techniques in the relative safety of the resort’s swimming pool.
San Diego based Tactical Flying conducted a comprehensive airborne thermographer course, which discussed tactics and considerations when using thermal imaging equipment and helicopter searchlights during law enforcement missions. This course is believed to be a one-of-a-kind offering that remains unparalleled in its field.
Tactical Flying played host to another two-day instructional event, focusing on the coordinated response to street racing. This course was designed to impart invaluable tactics and strategies for effectively addressing the challenges posed by illegal street racing, takeovers, and side shows. It emphasized the pivotal role of airborne law enforcement in ensuring public safety and security in such scenarios.
For clinical practitioners, the conference offered workshops on advanced procedures, pediatric care, ultrasound, rescue medicine, and pre-hospital critical care trends. Attendees could delve into topics like neonatal/pediatrics, obstetrics, and prehospital resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA).
ECHO assembled two panels of industry experts who discussed pressing matters in the air medical field and aviation safety. The air medical panel delved into industry trends and strategies aimed at elevating the quality and efficiency of medical transportation, all while prioritizing optimal patient care.
The aviation panel discussed aircraft operational safety concerns and shared best practices on enhancing overall safety within the industry. These panels play a pivotal role in driving essential dialogue in their specialized fields, contributing to the evolution of air medical services and aviation safety.
Following the intensive hands-on sessions, the conference exhibition floor opened for 2.5 days. In familiar trade show fashion, exhibitors displayed their wares, answered questions, and encouraged attendees to pick up informational material and enjoy free promotional products.
With the exhibition floor open, ECHO organizers promoted over 40 breakout sessions taught by nearly 60 volunteer instructors. These sessions provided comprehensive educational experiences for flight crews, clinical practitioners, law enforcement crews and SAR operators.
For those with competitive instincts, iSimulate sponsored the Get Real simulation challenge. Teams of two medical clinicians were challenged to work through a clinical scenario using a training manikin onboard an air medical cabin mock-up provided by Leonardo.
The challenge evaluated the team’s clinical knowledge, critical thinking, teamwork communication and situational awareness. The top three teams won valuable prizes and free registration for the 2024 ECHO conference.
ECHO’s growth and expansion
ECHO’s roots go back to 2015 when East Coast Helicopter Operations was launched as a grass roots effort to make high-quality air medical training accessible and affordable, initially for HEMS operators throughout Northern Virginia.
Over the next two years, ECHO’s successes resulting in its first ECHO conferences, and the group began earning recognition from other local operators in the public safety aviation community.
During this time, ECHO launched the first of two programs aimed at providing targeted and much needed assistance to the public safety aviation community.
“FAST [Flight Crew Assistance and Support Team] — it’s a 24/7 deployable team that’s free of charge to anyone in the community,” explained ECHO HEMS director Travis Mason. “It is based on donations and volunteers and responds to incidents, such as post-crash support, interunit turmoil, [and] spouse support … for crew and immediate family.”
The second program, Future Flight Crew (FFC), was launched with the goal of providing career mentoring to individuals looking to embark on a career as an air medical clinician. The pathway is free to emergency medical technicians, nurses and paramedics accepted into the program.
The 2023 program involved 20 participants who completed 18 weeks of virtual online classes, culminated by attending the ECHO conference as a group. In the days leading up to the start of the conference, FFC participants were provided advanced hands-on clinical instruction, workshops in resume building, and mock interviews with HEMS industry leaders.
“The idea behind FFC is, how can we be mad about not having well qualified and well trained candidates for these jobs if we’re not willing to do something about it?” Mason said. “In order to train them, we give them great experience and remove a cost barrier. It’s free to the participants, and what we are able to do is create a really competitive class of excellent candidates for all of these programs.”
The ECHO Public Safety Aviation Conference has seen remarkable growth over the past three years, surging from a modest gathering of 216 participants in 2021, hosted in Fort Myers, Florida, to an impressive 376 attendees in 2022 when it convened in Austin, Texas. However, it was in 2023 that the conference truly soared to new heights, attracting an impressive 510 participants to the picturesque coastal city of San Diego.
The uniqueness of the ECHO organization lies in the fact that it is operated by active public safety aviation professionals, specifically dedicated to serving the needs of their fellow colleagues.
“We all work in the industry full time, and we’ll never take a paycheck from ECHO,” said Ashley Chitty, ECHO marketing director. “Being for flight crews and by flight crews means we still have the same boots-on-the-ground mentality.
“We know what the struggles are. We know what the paychecks are like. With all of that in mind, we get to not only work our tails off for sponsorship dollars and negotiate these hotel contracts to keep costs low, but we get to watch the reactions on people’s faces when they show up and see all of this and they only spent $150 to get in the door.”
The consistent growth of the ECHO conference and the emerging prominence of the organization serves to underscore the mounting importance of public safety aviation, as well as the surging interest in the exchange of knowledge and networking among industry professionals.
Evidenced by its steadily increasing reputation and a growing number of participants, the ECHO conference exemplifies the industry’s sustained expansion and the dynamic evolution of its trends. It is becoming a driving force behind this industry evolution, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange to enhance safety and efficiency in the skies.
