The SAMU 37 emergency medical service coordinates urgent medical response operations throughout the Indre-et-Loire department in central France, operating from the CHU de Tours and its Hôpital Trousseau complex. As part of the nationwide French Service d’Aide Médicale Urgente network, SAMU 37 manages emergency medical regulation, physician-led pre-hospital interventions, and critical care transport across a territory that combines the dense urban environment of Tours with the rural landscapes and historic communities of the Loire Valley. Through its integrated SAMU-SMUR structure, the service continuously processes emergency calls, dispatches specialized medical teams, and deploys mobile intensive care units to severe cardiac, neurological, respiratory, and traumatic emergencies requiring immediate stabilization before hospital transfer. The organization serves as the department’s primary coordination center for advanced pre-hospital emergency medicine and intensive care logistics.
A major component of the service’s modernization strategy has been the development of its Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) capability based directly at the Hôpital Trousseau helipad. SAMU 37 operates an Airbus H145 by
Babcock MCS France configured as a flying intensive care unit for rapid emergency response and inter-hospital transport missions. The helicopter enables medical crews to bypass congested road networks and natural barriers such as the Loire River while significantly reducing transfer times for critically ill or injured patients requiring advanced tertiary care. Equipped for both primary rescue operations and secondary intensive care transfers, the aircraft plays a vital role in connecting rural sectors of Indre-et-Loire with specialized trauma, stroke, and surgical centers throughout the Centre-Val de Loire region.
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