An investigation by the Asbury Park Press revealed that seriously injured trauma victims needlessly wait for help from New Jersey State Police medevac helicopters, when privately operated medevac helicopters are just minutes away. At least two accident victims have died following these unnecessary delays.
Using a year’s worth of insider information, public medevac dispatch recordings, accident reports, and investigation records, the Press learned:
• Trauma victims routinely wait up to half an hour longer for state police medevac helicopters to arrive and rush them to hospitals.
• A turf battle between the state police, the state-run hospital systems paid to dispatch medevac helicopters, and private medevac helicopters has prevented the fastest-available helicopters from responding.
• In one instance, even when a paramedic at an accident scene requested a closer private helicopter, dispatchers rebuffed the request. That accident victim died. Another time dispatchers reassigned a call to the state police, even though a private medevac was in the air and closer.