Earlier this year, Health First took ownership of a Eurocopter EC135 P2+. It will be the primary aircraft for First Flight, the health system’s air ambulance program, now in its 25th year.

Following a system-wide rebranding last year, the new aircraft arrives bearing Health First’s new primary brand colors and lower-case ‘H’ monogram.

Health First's First Flight transports about 800 patients each year, responding to emergency calls around Brevard and parts of Osceola and Indian River counties.

The new EC135 P2+ brings with it updated avionics and a touchscreen GPS along with other advancements. Notably, it’s categorized IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) by the National Airspace System, replacing one 34 years old and categorized Visual Flight Rules. (It may only fly in visual meteorological conditions, or “clear weather.”)

The craft is the same size as the old one, and First Flight Program Manager and Chief Flight Nurse Rob Spivey says Brevard residents should expect the same lifesaving readiness care from its “one-of-a-kind” air ambulance.

READ the frontpage feature on First Flight that appeared in Florida Today’s April 23, 2023 issue HERE.

READ the profile that appears in Space Coast Daily HERE.