VIDEO: Hawaii has a new air ambulance serving the entire island chain. Optimum Air’s Pilatus PC-12 became operational Monday, Sept. 1. The new inter-island air ambulance service will provide critical transfers across Hawaii’s outer islands, including remote access to Molokai and Lanai. The aircraft comes with an FAA-approved aeromedical stretcher and patient loading system, a large cargo door for rapid loading, medical equipment and monitoring systems, advanced life support capabilities, and two-pilot crews with experienced clinical staff. It can carry up to two patients and up to four medical personnel. Optimum Air has contracts with more than 10 health insurers, including HMSA and Kaiser Permanente.
