About Angel One® Transport

The Angel One® medical transport program covers the entire state of Arkansas and its surrounding states. This covers a radius of approximately 200 miles around Little Rock. On average, we transport five patients a day with an average transport time of five hours, and we can reach any part of the state within one hour of departure from our hospital. We perform more than 2,100 total transports per year with 1,200 by helicopter.

We began operations in 1978 known as Arkansas Newborn Transport Service (ANTS), operating with one ambulance. A fixed-wing aircraft was leased from Central Flying Service in 1982 to accommodate longer distances. In 1985, helicopter operations were begun under the new name of Angel One, utilizing a Bell206-L-1 helicopter. This was upgraded to a light, twin engine helicopter, a Eurocopter BO-105 in 1987 and in 1992 a heavy twin engine Sikorsky S-76-A helicopter was added to the fleet. In 1999, ACH purchased a used Sikorsky S-76 A to replace the original Sikorsky helicopter. Both helicopters were replaced in 2002, and in recent years, we have added four more ground units to bring our fleet to a total of six plus the availability of fixed-wing aircraft.

Angel One provides intensive care medical transportation for the entire state of Arkansas and the surrounding states, covering a radius of approximately 200 miles of Little Rock. With the ability to do mobile ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), this distance is extended to 300 Nautical Miles.

Between July 2008 and June 2009, we transported approximately 1950 patients of which approximately 950 were pediatric patients and approximately 925 neonates and 8 Mobile ECMO transports. Angel One was the first to do mobile ECMO by helicopter and in 1996 became the first pediatric program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Services (CAMTS).

In July 2003, Angel One transitioned the aviation side and began operations under our own FAA Part 135. This accomplishment further shows the dedication of Arkansas Children’s Hospital to the Angel One program.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Angel One are dedicated to providing Care, Love and Hope… at 180 miles per hour.