FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  October 26, 2011                                             
Contact: David Cross or Clinton Burley (304) 340-8000

HealthNet Aeromedical Services Honored at
Air Medical Transport Conference
Recognized as Night Vision Award Winner

 (Boise, ID)  Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) recently honored HealthNet Aeromedical Services as part of the first Night Vision Award winners during the Air Medical Transport Conference in St. Louis, Mo.  HealthNet, which is based in Charleston, W.Va., was given the 10-year service award.

“As an early adopter of night vision technology we appreciate that ASU has chosen to recognize our program,” said Clinton Burley, interim HealthNet President and CEO.  “Night vision goggles positively impact the safety paradigm of our program.  We are committed to the continued use of life-saving technology.”

According to Burley, HealthNet was the first aeromedical program east of the Mississippi to utilize night vision goggles (NVGs) for all crewmembers during all phases of flight.  To do so is a major commitment in terms of both cost and training.  Each set of NVGs can cost upward of $20,000 and four sets are assigned to each HealthNet aircraft.  Additionally, each aircraft in the HealthNet fleet has had its interior and instrument lighting retrofitted in order to be NVG compatible. HealthNet crewmembers undergo extensive and ongoing night vision goggle training.

“There were a lot of great nominations this year and we were honored to recognize them at AMTC with their fellow operators across the country,” said ASU Chief Pilot Justin Watlington. 

Burley added that during the past 10 years, an estimated 9,000 HealthNet patient transports have been performed using NVGs given that nearly 30 percent of HealthNet flights occur at night.

About ASU
Since 1995, ASU’s goal has been to implement night vision in the civil aviation market to increase operational safety and improve mission capabilities. Our focus is on providing a turnkey solution to our customers so that with one call they can obtain:

• Night vision goggles and replacement parts
• Service/inspection for goggles 
• NVG cockpit lighting solutions, installed by our FAA-approved 145 repair station technicians at our facility in Boise, Idaho, or at the customer’s facility 
• Cockpit replacement parts provided by our FAA-approved PMA
• Initial and recurrent training for flight crews on the use of night vision via an FAA-approved 141 Training Program and/or 135 Air Operator Certificate
• Assistance in establishing Night Vision Programs.

To date, ASU is quickly closing in on 600 aircraft STC installations and sold over 2,500 aviator systems here in the U.S.  For additional information, call 208-426-8117 or e-mail ASU at info@asu-nvg.com

About HealthNet:

HealthNet Aeromedical Services was formed in 1986 and has safely completed more than 60,000 patient missions.  Headquartered in Charleston, W.Va., HealthNet operates/and or is affiliated with eight helicopter bases serving West Virginia and significant portions of Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia. Sponsor hospitals of the HealthNet system include Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston and West Virginia University Hospitals in Morgantown.  For more information about HealthNet Aeromedical Services, please visit www.healthnetaeromedical.com.