Medical Helicopters (CO)

Scanning Colorado Air Medical Services

The State of Colorado is served by several Air Ambulance companies that operate across the state and region. The services that are currently active in Colorado are as follows:

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Flight for Life Colorado

Established in 1972, Flight for Life Colorado was the first hospital-based air ambulance program in the United States. Part of the Centura Health Network and based out of Saint Anthony's Central Hospital in Lakewood, Flight for Life serves the entire Rocky Mountain Region with fixed wing, rotor wing, and ground based equipment. Rotor wing equipment is leased from Air Methods, Inc. while fixed wing aircraft is leased from and operated by Mayo Aviation based out of the Centennial Airport.

Flight for Life Colorado is dispatched by the Saint Anthony Communications Center located at Saint Anthony Central Hospital in Lakewood.

Equipment Callsigns & Locations

Helicopters

• Lifeguard 1 (N391LG) - St. Anthony Central (Lakewood)
• Lifeguard 2 (N392LG) - Summit Medical Center (Frisco)
• Lifeguard 3 (N397LG) - St. Francis Medical Center (Colorado Springs)
• Lifeguard 4 (N394LG) - St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center (Pueblo)
• Lifeguard 5 (N396LG) - Mercy Regional Medical Center (Durango)

Fixed Wing Aircraft

• Unknown - Centennial Airport KingAir (Englewood)
• Unknown (N222BE) - Centennial Airport LearJet (Englewood)
• Unknown - Durango-La Plata County Airport KingAir (Durango)

Ground Ambulances (Critical Care Transports)

• Terra 1 - St. Anthony Central CCT (Lakewood)
• Terra 2 - Summit Medical Center CCT (Frisco)
• Terra 3 - Newborn/Young Child CCT Team

Frequencies

FREQ    MODE     NAME           USAGE
130.150 AM       AIRCRAFT       Flight Following Denver Metro Area
155.355 PL 151.4 PIKES PEAK VHF Flight Following all areas outside Metro Denver
155.355 PL 100.0 METHODIST VHF  Flight Following in Park County/San Luis Valley and south to New Mexico
155.340 CSQ      HEAR           Flight Following in Summit County/Frisco Area
462.975 PL 136.5 D&C 10         Flight Following in Clear Creek, Gilpin, Park Counties, 
                                Helicopter Med Report Patch, and Denver CCT Dispatch
123.025 AM       DENVER TRAFFIC Denver Metro Area CTAF/UNICOM
123.050 AM                      Denver Metro Area CTAF/UNICOM (used for double chopper go's)

Boundaries for flight following frequencies are generally considered to be as follows:

Denver Metro Area 

East to Limon, south to Monument, north to Ft. Collins, and west to the Divide

All areas outside Metro Denver (Pikes Peak VHF) 

East to Kansas, south to New Mexico, north to I-80, and west into Teller County.

DTRS Talkgroups

TG   NAME       USAGE
2808 AIRMED 800 Statewide Flight Following
81   SAC ER     Saint Anthony's Central ER & CCT Dispatch/Ops
3996 AIRNET     Statewide Console to Console TG for Air Medical Services & PSAP's
                (occasional use by ADCOM to contact Flight for Life Dispatch)

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AirLife Denver

Founded in 1983, AirLife Denver is another regional air ambulance service based in Denver that serves the Rocky Mountain Region. AirLife Denver is the Critical Care Transport service for the HealthOne Network and is equipped with fixed wing, rotor wing, and ground based equipment. Fixed wing craft are provided by International Jet Aviation and based at the Centennial Airport and ground ambulances (Critical Care Transports) are provided by Rural/Metro Ambulance. Helicopters are leased from Air Methods, Inc.

AirLife Denver is dispatched by the AirLife Communications Center located in the Medical Center of Aurora-North Campus in Aurora. Calls are dispatched via Nextel and alphanumeric pager.

Equipment Callsigns and Locations

Helicopters

• Lifeguard 72 (N772AL) - Frederick-Firestone Fire Station #2 (Frederick)
• Lifeguard 73 (N773AL) - SkyRidge Medical Center (Lonetree)
• Lifeguard 74 (N374AL) - Medical Center of Aurora-North (Aurora)
• Unknown - Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (Cheyenne, Wyoming)

Note: L/G 73 and 74 are often interchangeable, but L/G 72 is almost always the Frederick-Firestone ship.

Fixed Wing Aircraft

• Unknown (N381AL) - Centennial Airport LearJet (Englewood)
• Unknown (N382AL) - Centennial Airport LearJet (Englewood)

Ground Ambulances (Critical Care Transports)

• AirLife 91 - Denver Metro Area CCT
• AirLife 92 - Denver Metro Area CCT

Frequencies

FREQ    MODE     NAME           USAGE
129.275 AM                      Flight Following Denver Metro Area (Primary)
123.075 AM                      Flight Following Denver Metro Area (no longer in use?)
129.550 AM       PIKES PEAK AM  Flight Following all areas outside Metro Denver
462.950 PL 141.3 D&C 9          Denver CCT Dispatch & Helicopter Med Report Patch
123.025 AM       DENVER TRAFFIC Denver Metro Area CTAF/UNICOM
123.050 AM                      Denver Metro Area CTAF/UNICOM (used for double chopper go's)
154.280 CSQ      FERN           Jefferson County Helicopter Standby Requests

Boundaries for flight following frequencies are generally considered to be as follows:

Denver Metro Area 

East to Limon, south to Monument, north to Ft. Collins, and west to the Divide

All areas outside Metro Denver (Pikes Peak AM) 

East to Kansas, south to New Mexico, north to I-80, and west into Teller County.

DTRS Talkgroups

TG   NAME   USAGE
3996 AIRNET Statewide Console to Console TG for Air Medical Services & PSAP's
            (routinely used by ADCOM to contact AirLife Dispatch)

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North Colorado Medevac

Established in 1982, North Colorado Medevac (formerly AirLife Greeley) serves the Northern Colorado area as well as portions of Wyoming and Nebraska. Part of the Banner Health System and based out of Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, Northern Colorado Medevac operates two rotor wing aircraft which are leased from Med-Trans Corp.

North Colorado Medevac is dispatched by American Medical Response (AMR) based out of a facility in Colorado Springs. Calls are dispatched by alphanumeric pager.

Equipment Callsigns & Locations

Helicopters

• Medevac 1 (N911GX) - Northern Colorado Medical Center (Greeley)
• Medevac 2 (N912GX) - Erie Municipal Airpark (Erie)
• Medevac 3 - Unknown

Frequencies

FREQ    MODE     NAME      USAGE
463.050 PL 110.9 MED 3     Flight Following & NCMC ER Channel
155.340 PL 156.7 PVH NORTH Flight Following & LZ Coordination in Larimer County
463.025 PL 91.5  MED 2     Medical Center of the Rockies ER (Med Reports)
123.000 AM                 Erie Municipal Airport CTAF/UNICOM
122.800 AM                 Greeley-Weld County Airport CTAF/UNICOM

DTRS Talkgroups

TG   NAME USAGE
2810      Flight Following
1917      old AirLife Greeley TG, unknown if currently used
1918      old AirLife Greeley "RUN-1" TG, unknown if currently used

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AirLink at Medical Center of the Rockies

AirLink at Medical Center of the Rockies is a brand new (established 2012) air ambulance service based out of the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. Part of the Poudre Valley Health System, AirLink at MCR will feature one rotor wing aircraft capable of high altitude rescues. AirLink at MCR is operated in partnership with AirLink at Regional West which is based out of the Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. AirLink at Regional West leases their aircraft from Med-Trans Air Medical Transport Corp.

Not much is known about the new AirLink at MCR program at this time. Please check back for updates as the program expands and evolves.

Equipment Callsigns & Locations

Helicopters

• AirLink 1 (N911LL) - Regional West Medical Center (Scottsbluff, Nebraska)
• Unknown - Medical Center of the Rockies (Loveland, Colorado)

Possible Frequencies

Frequencies listed below are already in use by other air ambulance services in the Northern Colorado area. It is unknown what, if any, new frequencies will be used for the new AirLink program.

FREQ    MODE     NAME      USAGE
155.340 PL 156.7 PVH NORTH Flight Following & LZ coordination in Larimer County
463.025 PL 91.5  MED 2     Medical Center of the Rockies ER & Air Ambulance Coordination
463.025 PL 88.5  MED 2     Poudre Valley Hospital ER & Air Ambulance Coordination
462.950 PL 88.5  MED 9     Poudre Valley Hospital D&C (used for air ambulance coordination)
122.700 AM                 Ft. Collins-Loveland Airport CTAF/UNICOM

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Memorial Star Transport

Memorial Star Transport is the Critical Care Transport service of the Memorial Health System based out of Colorado Springs. They operate fixed wing, rotor wing, and ground ambulances within a five-state region surrounding Memorial Hospital Central. Memorial Star's single helicopter is leased from and operated by Med-Trans Corp. and its fixed wing aircraft is leased from and operated by EagleMed, LLC. Memorial Star's ground ambulance (Critical Care Transport) is provided by American Medical Response.

Memorial Star Transport is dispatched by American Medical Response out of their facility in Colorado Springs.

Equipment Callsigns & Locations

Helicopters

• Memorial Star (N515MT) - Memorial Hospital Central (Colorado Springs)

Fixed Wing Aircraft

• Unknown - Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (Colorado Springs)

Ground Ambulances (Critical Care Transports)

• Unknown - Memorial Hospital Central (Colorado Springs)

Frequencies

FREQ    MODE    NAME USAGE
152.750 DPL 115      Memorial Star Operations

DTRS Talkgroups

TG   NAME   USAGE
4947 ORANGE El Paso County Flight TG (air to ground coordination)
4895 AMR 1  American Medical Response TG 1
4896 AMR 2  American Medical Response TG 2 (Memorial Star Ops)
4948        Memorial Hospital ER
4949        Penrose Hospital ER
4951        Evans Army Community Hospital ER
4952        US Air Force Academy ER
4953        Memorial Hospital North ER
4954        Saint Francis Medical Center ER
4956        Pikes Peak Regional Hospital ER

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St. Mary's CareFlight

St. Mary's CareFlight was established in 1976 to provide critical care transport services to the Grand Junction & Greater Rocky Mountain Region. Operated by St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, St. Mary's CareFlight owns both a rotor wing and fixed wing aircraft. The rotor wing aircraft is operated by PHI, Inc. and the fixed wing is operated by Air Evac Services, Inc. St. Mary's CareFlight is NOT affiliated with the TriState CareFlight program based in Arizona.

St. Mary's CareFlight is dispatched by the St. Mary's Hospital & Regional Medical Center in Grand Junction.

Equipment Callsigns & Locations

Helicopters

• CareFlight (N412SM) - St. Mary's Hospital (Grand Junction)

Fixed Wing Aircraft

• Unknown (N912SM) - Grand Junction Regional Airport (Grand Junction)

Frequencies

FREQ    MODE     NAME  USAGE
122.700 AM             Primary/Helipad
123.025 AM             Secondary/Air to Air/Air to Ground
155.340 CSQ      HEAR  CareFlight Voice Paging & Air to Ground Comms
155.475 CSQ      NLEC  Landing zone coordination common
463.175 PL 141.3 MED 8 St. Mary's Hospital ER (Med Reports)

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Tri-State CareFlight

TriState CareFlight is a private air ambulance service based out of Bullhead City, Arizona. Founded in 2002, TriState CareFlight provides rotor wing and fixed wing air ambulance services from eleven bases spread throughout Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. TriState CareFlight is NOT affiliated with the St. Mary's CareFlight program based in Grand Junction.

TriState CareFlight is dispatched by the TriState CareFlight Dispatch & Communications Center located in Bullhead City, Arizona. Calls are dispatched by Nextel and alphanumeric pagers.

Equipment Callsigns & Locations

Helicopters

• TriState CareFlight 3 - Durango-La Plata County Airport (Durango)
• TriState CareFlight 11 - Montrose Memorial Hospital (Montrose)
• TriState CareFlight 15 - Eagle County Regional Airport (Gypsum)/Vail Valley Medical Center (Vail)
• TriState CareFlight 16 - Taos Regional Airport (Taos, New Mexico)

Fixed Wing Aircraft

• TriState CareFlight 30 - Durango-La Plata County Airport (Durango)

Frequencies

No frequencies are available for TriState CareFlight. TriState CareFlight uses a satellite communications system for flight following which cannot be monitored by scanner.

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Common Frequencies & Landing Zone Coordination

Frequency use will vary by company and incident. It is a good idea to keep all of these plugged in during an incident as they are randomly assigned.

DTRS Talkgroups

TG   NAME   USAGE
3996 AIRNET Statewide Console to Console TG for Air Medical Services & PSAP's
            (primary users at this time are ADCOM & AirLife Denver)

Common/Shared Air Frequencies

FREQ    MODE USAGE
123.025 AM   Metro Denver CTAF/UNICOM
123.050 AM   Metro Denver CTAF/UNICOM
123.075 AM   Metro Denver CTAF/UNICOM

Landing Zone Coordination

FREQ     MODE     NAME    USAGE
154.280  CSQ      FERN 1  Fire Emergency Radio Net Ch 1 (common use across the state)
154.295  CSQ      FERN 2  Fire Emergency Radio Net Ch 2
154.265  CSQ      FERN 3  Fire Emergency Radio Net Ch 3
155.340  CSQ      HEAR    Hospital Emergency Ambulance Radio (common use across the state)
155.475  CSQ      NLEC    National Law Enforcement Channel (common use in the mountains)
853.7875 PL 156.7 S-TAC D Statewide 800MHz Analog Tactical, Direct (may also be called S-TAC)
851.1000 NAC 293  SIMPX 1 Statewide Simplex 1
851.7500 NAC 293  SIMPX 2 Statewide Simplex 2
851.3000 NAC 293  SIMPX 3 Statewide Simplex 3
851.5500 NAC 293  SIMPX 4 Statewide Simplex 4
853.6875 NAC 293  SIMPX 5 Statewide Simplex 5

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Tables Linked to Colorado Database

The following tables are directly linked to the Colorado Database. Any changes occurring in the database will be reflected in these tables immediately upon entry. Please note, however, that these tables may not represent the most accurate or up to date information.

Flight for Life

Frequency	Input	License	Type	Tone	Alpha Tag	Description	Mode	Tag
130.15000			BM	CSQ	FFL DISP	Flight for Life (am)	AM	EMS Dispatch
155.35500		WPKV724	BM	151.4 PL	FFL PP DISP	Flight for Life - Pike's Peak	FM	EMS Dispatch
462.97500	467.97500	WPBJ412	RM	136.5 PL	MED-10	Flight for Life Denver & Frisco	FM	EMS-Tac
155.34000			BM		FFL FCO DISP	Flight for Life - Frisco Dispatch	FM	EMS Dispatch
155.35500		WPKV724	BM	100.0 PL	FFL MM Disp	Flight for Life - Methodist Mtn Base	FMN	EMS Dispatch
152.99000	159.76500	WQOI971	RM	CSQ	FFL Kremlng	Williams Peak (Kremmling, Grand County)	FMN	EMS Dispatch
153.01250	160.15500	WQOI971	RM	CSQ	FFL GlnwdSpg	Sunlight Peak (Glenwood Springs, Garfield County)	FMN	EMS Dispatch
153.41750	159.60750	WQSX505	RM	136.5 PL	FFL Durango	Missionary Ridge (Durango, La Plata County)	FMN	EMS Dispatch

AirLife Denver

Frequency	Input	License	Type	Tone	Alpha Tag	Description	Mode	Tag
129.27500				CSQ	AIRLIFE DISP	AirLife	AM	EMS Dispatch
129.55000		KBX2		CSQ	ALIFE PP DSP	AirLife - Pike's Peak Base	AM	EMS Dispatch
462.95000	467.95000	WQVP712	RM	141.3 PL	MED-9 AL	AirLife Denver	FM	EMS-Tac

ICALL & ITAC Repeaters

'"`UNIQ--freqsubcat-00000002-QINU`"'

APCO-25 Digital Simplex

Frequency	Input	License	Type	Tone	Alpha Tag	Description	Mode	Tag
851.10000		WQTD797	M	293 NAC	CO SMPX1	Statewide Simplex 1	P25	Interop
851.75000		WQTD797	M	293 NAC	CO SMPX2	Statewide Simplex 2	P25	Interop
852.30000		WQTD797	M	293 NAC	CO SMPX3	Statewide Simplex 3	P25	Interop
852.55000		WQTD797	M	293 NAC	CO SMPX4	Statewide Simplex 4	P25	Interop
853.68750		WQTD797	M	293 NAC	CO SMPX5	Statewide Simplex 5	P25	Interop
853.78750	808.78750	WQNY612	RM	156.7 PL	CO STAC	Statewide Tactical Repeater	FMN	Interop
764.05625			M		CO 700 M/A-1	700 MHz Mutual Aid 1	P25	Interop
764.06875			M		CO 700 M/A-2	700 MHz Mutual Aid 2	P25	Interop
775.99375			M		CO 700 M/A-3	700 MHz Mutual Aid 3	P25	Interop
794.05625			M		CO 700 M/A-4	700 MHz Mutual Aid 4	P25	Interop
794.06875			M		CO 700 M/A-5	700 MHz Mutual Aid 5	P25	Interop
805.99375			M		CO 700 M/A-6	700 MHz Mutual Aid 6	P25	Interop
460.42500			BM		CO CLEER	Colorado Law Enforcement Emergency Radio	FMN	Interop

Analog Simplex

'"`UNIQ--freqsubcat-00000004-QINU`"'

Law Enforcement

'"`UNIQ--freqsubcat-00000005-QINU`"'

Fire

'"`UNIQ--freqsubcat-00000006-QINU`"'

Emergency Medical

'"`UNIQ--freqsubcat-00000007-QINU`"'

Medical (MED) Channels

'"`UNIQ--freqsubcat-00000008-QINU`"'