The American Heart Association Hampton Roads has honored the Sentara Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance program with its 2023 R. Bryan Grinnan, M.D. Memorial Research Award. The award was presented at the annual Heart Ball event in Norfolk, Va., which recognizes survivors and volunteers who contribute to the AHA’s mission.
The Grinnan award is named for the founder and president of the American Heart Association Hampton Roads board. It honors an individual who makes the Hampton Roads community a better place through their investment of time and/or a financial contribution in support of heart and brain health.
Of Nightingale’s record 862 patient flights in 2022, 310 patients were having cardiac events and 162 had neurological events, including strokes.
Nightingale Manager and flight nurse Denise Baylous shared her thoughts on what the award means to her team. “The nomination for the 2023 Grinnan Award is a true honor for our team because a large portion of our flights consist of cardiac and stroke patients. Working with our Sentara physician partners and our cardiac and stroke service lines, our team has developed clinical protocols that allow us to provide advanced treatments and rapid transport, saving precious time in getting our patients to cardiac and neurological interventions.
“Our average transport time for cardiac patients is 30 minutes to intervention and our stroke patients are 12 minutes,” Baylous added. “During our transports, we can provide advanced treatments and notify the hospital teams, so the transfer of the patient is seamless. Streamlining care saves cardiac muscle and millions of brain cells, thus improving the patient’s outcome and quality of life. This nomination recognizes the teamwork and care that we, as Nightingale, provide to area hospitals and our community” said Baylous.
Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance provides rapid transport of critically ill and injured patients in Hampton Roads (southeast Virginia) the Virginia Eastern Shore, and northeastern North Carolina. Since its inception in 1982, Nightingale has flown more than 25,000 patients. The Nightingale team consists of flight nurses, flight paramedics, pilots, dispatchers, mechanics, and a medical director. Nightingale is owned by Sentara Health and operated by Metro Aviation.
This press release was prepared and distributed by Sentara
