Virtua SouthStar honored for lifesaving measures
Robert Snyder, 24, and his family with the Virtua SouthStar crew.
The Virtua SouthStar team and other first responders were honored recently for helping to save the life of an accident victim. Robert Snyder, 24, was injured in a vehicle crash in January 2010 in Rio Grande. The Virtua SouthStar helicopter transported Snyder to the Harrah's Regional Trauma Center at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Atlantic City Campus.
Doctors, nurses and hospital staff along with the Virtua SouthStar flight crew gathered to greet and reunite with Snyder and his family, who brought a cake decorated as the Operation board game that read "Thank You."
The crowd applauded while Snyder took a short walk around the atrium to exhibit his progress.
"Thank you for saving my life," said Snyder to those who gathered. "I'm still a little rough when I walk, but I'm going to get better."
About Virtua SouthStar
Virtua provides reliable and speedy transport for seriously injured residents through its medical air transportation called SouthStar. It is South Jersey's only designated airborne emergency medical service.
Based at Virtua Voorhees, the SouthStar helicopter provides airborne emergency medical services 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. The helicopter is staffed by:
- Two State police pilots
- Flight nurse
- Flight paramedic
The SouthStar aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, has the following features:
- Ability to transport 2 patients
- Aerodynamic fuselage and retractable landing gear
- Capability of reaching 155 knots, with a fuel range of 2 hours
Virtua is a comprehensive multi-hospital healthcare system headquartered in Marlton, NJ. Its mission is to deliver a world-class patient experience through its programs of excellence in cancer treatment, cardiology, orthopaedics, women's health, pediatrics, surgery, neuroscience and wellness. A non-profit organization, Virtua employs 8,400 clinical and administrative personnel, and approximately 1,800 physicians serve as medical staff members. Virtua has distinguished itself as one of the first Six Sigma organizations in healthcare, as an early adopter of clinical and digital technologies, and for its innovative partnerships with nationally renowned organizations such as
GE Healthcare,
Fox Chase Cancer Center and
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). It has been honored twice with the New Jersey Governor's award for Clinical Excellence and recognized with the Leadership Award for Outstanding Achievement by Voluntary Hospitals of America. Virtua has been honored as the #1 Best Employer in the Delaware Valley by the
Philadelphia Business Journal and is the recipient of the Consumer Choice Awards by National Research Corporation. Virtua is proud to be the official southern New Jersey sponsor of the Go Red for Women and Start! Walking Movements. For more information, visit
www.virtua.org or call 1-888-VIRTUA-3 (1-888-847-8823).