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The exceptional customer care delivered by Delta's flight attendants goes well beyond personalized, elevated service. Before earning their wings, each flight attendant trainee studies and practices rigorously to transform into safety pros whose No. 1 duty is to safeguard crew and customers - needing to show they can swiftly, compassionately and seamlessly shift from hospitality to emergency response at 30,000 feet.
"Above all else, the role of a Delta flight attendant is that of a highly trained safety professional. Our people take great pride in this responsibility," said
Available to Delta flight attendants is an array of technology and tools to help them quickly assess everything from headaches to heart attacks; coordinate with the flight crew, Delta's operations team and medical professionals on the ground; and get customers the care they need as quickly as possible.
On any given day, 4,000 Delta flights crisscross the world, over oceans and sparsely populated countryside far from hospitals and doctors' offices. That makes a thoughtful, well-equipped response all the more critical.
Our commitment to continuously seek innovation and improvement is a core tenet of Delta culture and buttressed by our desire to better support our people and provide better service for our customers. Delta's recent investments in upgraded medical diagnostic and communications technology to enhance our flight attendants' capabilities when caring for ailing customers embody these core beliefs.
Here is a behind-the-scenes look at four things that should give you peace of mind the next time you see our crew respond to an in-flight medical event. There's an App for That: MedAire's
Recently, Delta instituted a pair of key tech-enabled enhancements to help our flight attendants more effectively handle in-flight medical events. The first is our transition to a new in-flight medical support provider, MedAire's
With
"I feel grateful that we have this tool that helped make a difficult situation less stressful," said
In addition to our adoption of MedAire's
"The new devices on our aircraft make it so much easier to gather the vital information we need to assess the condition of our customers," said
Delta's upgraded suite of diagnostic devices work in tandem with the new capabilities made available by our switch to the app-based
"I'm thankful that not only have we been given these fantastic tools to help us navigate through a medical event, but also for the support and training on how to best use them," Williams added.
The upgraded Red Pouch and switchover to
"At Delta, we are constantly pursuing new ways to evolve and enhance our procedures and available resources to support the wellness of our people and bolster their ability to assist customers," said Dr.
Our flight attendants come to us from all walks of life. While a number do have a background in medicine, it's experience that's valued but not required to become a Delta flight attendant.
As a result, our medical training is focused on gathering and communicating key information and symptoms presented by the customer to
In addition to identifying symptoms, our flight attendants receive instruction on how to provide basic first aid and CPR including the use of an AED.
During their initial training, our flight attendants are required to complete a total of six modules designed to prepare them to respond to onboard medical events. The training modules, spread out over 17 hours of instruction, consist of eLearning, classroom time, hands-on practice as well as training simulations in an aircraft cabin. Is There a Doctor On Board?
In some instances, Delta flight attendants may request the assistance of any physicians or other medical professional who may be on board the aircraft.
During in-flight medical events, the decision on whether the situation will necessitate an unscheduled landing is at the discretion of the captain with counsel from the doctors at
"We are thankful for the medical professionals who selflessly volunteer their expertise during in-flight events," said
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