Monday, November 14, 2011

New Jersey: Cooper's medical helicopter can continue to fly in South Jersey - Court.

Evesham-based health system Virtua lost its bid to keep another, competing medical helicopter out of the skies over South Jersey in an appellate decision released Monday.

The Appellate Division of state Superior Court upheld the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services' decision to allow Atlantic Health to operate emergency medical flights in South Jersey.

It also affirmed the state's right to revise its dispatch protocol without undergoing a formal "rule-making" process, including public hearings and comments on the changes.

Atlantic Health's Air Two began flights last December under a new contract with Cooper University Hospital in Camden and is stationed out of Millville Airport. Atlantic Health owns Overlook and Morristown hospitals in North Jersey and had an existing license for emergency medical flights there.

Virtua, through its SouthStar air medical services helicopter, had been the sole provider of emergency medical flights in South Jersey for more than 20 years, taking patients to Cooper, its own hospitals and other facilities.

SouthStar crews include two Virtua staffers and New Jersey State Police pilots, and are part of the state's JEMSTAR Helicopter Response Program. NorthStar handles responses north of I-95 in the state. Both are funded through grants.

In January, Virtua filed a complaint arguing that the state broke its own policy and rules when it licensed Air Two to fly in South Jersey by not requiring the private company to apply for and acquire a "certificate of need." That process would have examined the plan's impact and its changes to the region's emergency medical services. It also challenged the state's 2010 revision to its dispatch protocol for the flights.

The appeals court concluded that the state "did not exceed its authority nor did it act arbitrarily."

Instead, the licensing of Air Two in South Jersey was in keeping with the "agency's long-standing practice in not requiring a certificate of need," the opinion read. It also rejected an argument that Atlantic Health's license was restricted to flights in Essex, Morris and Union counties only.

Virtua claimed, in part, that with other medical helicopters in the air, the quality of patient care in the region would suffer and costs would dramatically increase. Virtua has seen a decrease in calls for response as a result of the addition of Air Two and the revised protocol, the opinion read.

"Virtua maintains that permitting such providers to, in essence, compete with Virtua ... diminishes the quality of the services being provided. In particular, Virtua argues that the revision of the dispatch protocol decreases the preparedness and expertise of each helicopter unit, and diminishes the frequency with which each unit is called to respond," the opinion read.

However, the court noted testimony from a state public health representative that although "a decrease in the frequency and number of patient contacts may contribute to a decrease in skill competencies (of crew members), many other agencies successfully manage this issue by rotating their staff to higher-volume ground units to maintain their skills."

The representative said skills also can be maintained through obtaining national certifications and using simulators, the opinion read.

"We also recognize Virtua's claim that the department's expansion of eligible responders could have adverse collateral effects upon the overall quality and preparedness of the helicopter units in the JEMSTAR program," the court opinion read, but noted that Virtua has no legal basis for relief "stemming from that policy disagreement."

Gary Lesneski, senior executive vice president and general counsel for Cooper, said he was pleased with the court's decision. In its first year, Air Two has made more than 400 flights, officials said.

"This allows Air Two to continue its vital role of inter-facility transfers of patients needing the tertiary care services available at Cooper and respond to traumatic accidents in accordance with the department's dispatch protocol," Lesneski said. "Our goal has always been to help our patients receive the intensive care that only a level-one trauma center can provide as quickly as possible."

Virtua, in a statement released after Monday's decision, said it is in the process of "thoroughly reviewing the court's ruling and will carefully evaluate our options." Virtua has five hospitals in South Jersey, including Mount Holly and Evesham.

"We took legal action because we believed that the uncertainty created by the state's action in regard to its own regulations could lead to a continual proliferation in the number of emergency air medical helicopters operating in the state, which could negatively impact the air medical system's overall quality and cost," the statement said. "Virtua remains committed to providing the highest quality care to those who require SouthStar's services, which are available around the clock every day of the year."

Patients in Burlington County could be served by either SouthStar or Air Two depending on location and other dispatch protocol, officials said. The county is served by three trauma centers, including Cooper and Atlantic City Medical Center's City Division in Atlantic City in the south and Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton to the north.

 http://www.phillyburbs.com

No comments:

Post a Comment