The Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania (CEM) was founded in 1978 and is among the world’s leading organizations in emergency medicine, education, and research.
STAT MedEvac was birthed in 1984 as STAT and continues to soar transporting critically sick and injured patients each and every day. Today, it has evolved into one of the largest single operated and dispatched air-medical transport systems in the United States. The clinical arm of the CEM has a vibrant story, and how the name, STAT MedEvac, came to be is just as interesting.
Dr. Walt Stoy has been with Center for Emergency Medicine for 40 years and counting and knows the story behind the name. Dr. Stoy is a professor and was the founding director of the Emergency Medicine Program for the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. From 1977 through 1981, he was a paramedic for the City of Pittsburgh. In 1984, as STAT was started, he was in the first of the part-time positions and flew with STAT for 12 years.
Pictured: STAT – Angel 1 and Angel 2
“Life Flight and MedEvac type names have been widely used, and Dr. Stewart was the founder of the Center for Emergency Medicine. He was the medical director and creator of our name today,” says Dr. Stoy. “He wanted to have the acronym more relatable. You know the people watching TV shows or in the hospital, you wanted something fast, you wanted it STAT. And then the helicopter system was known as STAT standing for Specialized Treatment and Transport.”
At the time, “angel” was used to identify each of the aircraft. Mercy Hospital and St. Francis Hospital were part of the consortium making up the CEM. Dr. Stoy says, “Oversight of CEM and STAT included sisters (nuns) who sat on the board of directors. They were very appreciative of Dr. Stewart’s willingness to name the aircraft Angel One, Two, Three… As many of the patients were flown to Mercy Hospital and St. Francis, it was Angel’s that brought those patients quickly back for care.”
The blue and white helicopters became black and gold to match the Pittsburgh region more fittingly.
Pictured: STAT – Angel 1 on the Mercy Hospital pad
Dr. Stoy explains that the latter part of the name, MedEvac, dates back to the 1950’s. MedEvac has been widely used in the public safety and military industry. MedEvac came from crisis events, like the Korean War in the beginnings of the 1950s, in which patients were helicoptered or at the time, medevac’d. MedEvac stands for “medical evacuation.”
Throughout the years, even from its start in 1984, STAT MedEvac has evolved with technologies and purposes to remain soaring stronger each day. Its history is honorable and possesses a certain sacredness to what safety represents today.