Air rescue helicopter doctor: Robert Katzer, MD

When he's not workikng at UC Irvine Health's Emergency Department, Dr. Robert Katzer can be found volunteering as a helicopter physician with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

As an Air Rescue Team member, Dr. Katzer acts as a flight physician working with the county public safety.

The team provides needed air medical resources to San Bernardino County which is geographically the largest county in the United States.

The team consists of volunteer emergency physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and paramedics that provide medical and rescue staffing to the county’s public safety rescue helicopters.

Some members are reserve sheriff deputies and others are citizen volunteers.

Mission capabilites include transport of serious trauma or medical parents from paramedic ambulances in the field to specialty care centers, saving significant time over ground transport. 

The team also performs hoist rescues in areas where there is no suitable area to land.

This also allows the insertion of ALS medical providers into austere conditions, in order to commence patient assessment and treatment prior to loading into the aircraft.

The broad terrain features of the county often require this capability, including the mountains of the San Bernardino National forest and peaks as high as San Gorgonio (11,503 feet).

The rescue helicopters utilized by the team include UH‐1H Huey and one Bell 212. The Air Rescue Team responds to approximately 250 calls per year.