On October 25th. the Elevating Health Care Access project hosted a live demonstration of the cutting-edge Kite B drone: a vehicle that can safely and quickly deliver lifesaving medications to rural Virginia. This event introduced Tangier Island residents to the groundbreaking project, which aims to improve health care access for hard-to-reach areas like theirs—where patients often endure delays due to transportation challenges.
The event also celebrated the completion of the Stage I goals for the project, funded through the federal SMART Grant research program. It concluded months of test flights by DroneUp, an American autonomous drone delivery company, which successfully reduced delivery times to this remote region. In just 16 minutes, a drone made the 17-mile flight from Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital (RSMH) on the Eastern Shore, simulating how medication and medical supplies can be transported via drone, and landed at Riverside Tangier Medical Center on Tangier Island. On the return flight, the drone simulated the transportation of routine lab work back to RSMH for testing.
Pour en savoir plus : Drone Medications Delivery Demo Across the Chesapeake Bay