ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A panel of lawmakers is recommending Maryland's medevac program receive funding to comply with tighter federal regulations that are applied to commercial programs and to phase in the cost of supplying an extra pilot.
The panel also recommended that Maryland State Police should pursue a level of certification that requires two paramedics to fly on a helicopter, if money is available in fiscal year 2011.
It's estimated that would cost about $2.3 million a year. Now, only one paramedic participates in a single medevac flight.
The group was convened last month to review Maryland's emergency medical services system, as the General Assembly examines ways to improve the state's medevac system after a fatal crash killed four people in September.
