With so many serious accidents this summer, we have often seen emergency crews responding in helicopters.

It is the fastest way to get a patient to a hospital.

In fact, a helicopter can get to the scene of an accident or to a hospital in half the time it would take on the ground.

PHI AirCare 4 is based out of Winchester Regional Airport.

It helicopter flies at 120 miles per hour and covers about a 200 mile radius with most of the flights to Winchester Medical Center.

From the time the crew gets the call from dispatch, it takes less than ten minutes for them to get up in the air and on their way. Most of the time though, it takes just four minutes.

Aside from the pilot, the crew on the Wednesday 24 hour shift consists of Bruce Ruggeri, the flight paramedic and Jodi Pritchard, the flight nurse.

The Pilot, Terry Sahlin,says, "There was a time in the EMS industry, when they wanted the pilots to be EMTs but really being the pilot is a full time duty and being a medical attendant is a full time job also so trying to mix the two is not a good idea."

Once up in the air, the goal is to get to the scene as quickly and safely as possible. When the crew is called out they know someone is either seriously injured or seriously ill.

Ruggeri explains, "Usually it's a patient that needs to go to a hospital other than the nearest hospital and the fastest way to get them there is by flight."

Ruggeri adds that AirCare 4 averages about three flights a day out of Winchester Regional Airport.

He says about 40% of the time they're heading to an emergency, the other 60%, they're moving patients between hospitals.

Where the patient is taken depends on where they are being picked up, the severity of their injuries, and how close most appropriate hospital is that can care for the person.

The weather is one other critical part to all of this. Sahlin says, he's keeps an eye on it all the time.

The crew comes to work knowing they are likely to be flying toward a traumatic situation, which makes it even more critical to work together and rely on each other to get through.

Flight Nurse, Jodi Pritchard, tells TV3, "You have to put your emotions aside to tend to them. Doesn't matter the incident, doesn't matter when or where or how it happened you need to focus on patient care and patient care alone because that's what's going to save that patient."