PennSTAR, the air medical transportation service operated by Penn Medicine, plays a key role in providing rapid critical care across southeastern Pennsylvania and surrounding regions. The team’s work often begins with an urgent call, such as a recent case involving a patient suffering from an intracranial hemorrhage at Chester County. Flight paramedic Doug Simpson, flight nurse Joe O’Leary, and pilot Eric Houghton mobilized quickly to transport the patient to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for specialized neurosurgical treatment.
PennSTAR operates two bases: one at Penn Medicine Doylestown Health and another at Wings Airfield in Blue Bell. Following Doylestown Health’s integration into the University of Pennsylvania Health System in spring 2025, PennSTAR was able to reestablish its hospital-based operations for the first time since the 1980s. This move has expanded PennSTAR’s coverage area from the Poconos to Delaware and from the Jersey shore to Lancaster.
Since July 2025, PennSTAR has been part of the centralized Penn Medicine Capacity Management Center. This integration aims to ensure that patients receive timely care by coordinating transportation and hospital capacity throughout Penn’s Philadelphia hospitals.
“Speed is a major advantage of helicopter medical transport, but it’s just as critical that these aircraft are capable of delivering intensive care, ensuring uninterrupted treatment from one location to the next, which is essential to improving patient outcomes,” said Wayne Riddle, Interim Program Director for PennSTAR.
The helicopters used by PennSTAR are owned by Penn Medicine but flown and maintained by Metro Aviation. Pilots must have at least 2,000 flight hours before joining Metro Aviation. Many have military backgrounds or significant experience in civilian aviation. Training includes simulator sessions at Metro’s headquarters in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Each mission is staffed by a flight paramedic and a flight nurse with expertise in emergency medicine and critical care. They are certified in cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support, flight nursing, and pre-hospital trauma life support. “We are essentially caring for an ICU-level patient inside a small box. We don’t have the resources that nurses and staff would have within a traditional ICU. Most of our equipment is located in bags,” said Riddle.
Robin Wood, vice president for System Capacity Management and Patient Flow at Penn Medicine, commented on the challenges faced by crews: “It’s a very challenging environment, these are extremely critical patients that you are managing without the multiple resources of a brick and mortar hospital.”
Flight nurse John Buckwalter highlighted how important first impressions can be: “I think it’s important to understand that a lot of times we’re the first contact with Penn Medicine a lot of people have. And it’s important that we bring our philosophy and our experience and our educations to the bedside.”
Maintenance practices follow strict protocols. Metro Aviation conducts mandatory inspections every 800 flight hours; backup helicopters are rotated in during this period. “They pull everything out here so that they can take a look at any components, any cracks, anything here in the structure,” said Wendell May, aviation site manager for Metro Aviation.
Jason Mann described his motivation as an aircraft mechanic: “In aviation, this is the only job you can have where you directly impact somebody’s life…This here, you’re saving somebody’s life.”
There are risks involved despite redundancy measures. In May 2025 one helicopter experienced tail rotor failure while returning to base—a situation typically considered catastrophic—but pilot Bobby King managed an emergency landing using skills developed during Army training exercises. “I’m very blessed at the job the crews did,” King said after safely landing with minimal damage.
King received national recognition when he was named Pilot of the Year for 2025 by the National EMS Pilots Association. “There are pilots doing miraculous things every day in a helicopter…so I was quite honored to receive the award,” he stated.
During flights between hospitals or from trauma scenes such as car crashes, crews monitor vital signs closely while making clinical decisions midair—often consulting physicians only by phone if needed. Buckwalter noted: “It’s myself and my partner who are relying on our clinical judgment and our clinical expertise…We have physicians available to us to consult by phone if we need to but they’re not here.”
PennSTAR helicopters carry equipment similar to what would be found in an ICU—including cardiac monitors and ventilators—and feature quick-loading doors for stretchers.
A unique capability sets Penn Medicine apart: it has Philadelphia’s only instrument flight approach for medical helicopters allowing landings even when weather conditions prevent others from flying directly into hospitals.
“When a patient needs care, that doesn’t always happen when the weather is perfect,” May explained. “So having that capability…we are able to get the patient to care where other really no other programs could.”
After completing each transfer—such as delivering patients swiftly from Chester County Hospital to specialized units at Hospital of University of Pennsylvania—the crew provides updates for families whenever possible. O’Leary reflected on this aspect: “It’s the human side of the job where we want to make sure that we’re doing best we can for family…that their loved one is in good hands.”
Robin Wood added regarding community benefits: “The Doylestown community now has swift access to multiple critical care services that Penn Medicine offers.”
Buckwalter summarized their mission: “Everything is about speed and efficiency…The faster from time you’re injured until time you’re operating room makes huge difference in patient outcomes.”
