What has long seemed like a distant, futuristic concept is now hurtling to the present. Partnering with drone delivery company Zipline, Intermountain Healthcare is set to pioneer drone delivery in the state of Utah. With its very own unmanned drone delivery system, Zipline will move prescriptions quickly and efficiently from a provider to patients.

Service is coming this summer to the greater Salt Lake area. The brand-new system will initially focus on delivery of specialty pharmaceuticals and home-care products to patient homes within a 50-mile radius of the South Jordan distribution/flight center. 

Over time, Intermountain Healthcare says it plans to expand to deliver a range of medications and products, including prescriptions, specialty pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter items. The system could also evolve to ferry lab specimens from patients’ homes back to Intermountain facilities for assessment.

“Systems are already running in many countries. In the U.S. we’re right on the cusp of moving from ‘let’s test this’ to ‘let’s allow drone delivery to connect a customer and a supplier’ and that’s a big step," said Jared Esselman, director of the Utah Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division. The shift to a drone-based program from the current system that relies on delivery trucks is a huge step forward in providing more efficient service while also reducing expenses and environmental impacts.

The Aeronautics Division of the Utah Department of Transportation is hosting the state’s first-ever Aeronautics Conference. As the only event of its kind in Utah, this premier conference will bring together over 500 aviation professionals, state and local officials, mechanics, engineers, planners, and industry leaders to improve safety networks, share best practices and foster collaboration. Continuing education credits and certifications will be available.

The Utah Aeronautics Conference comes with many benefits, including opportunities to hear from nationally renowned keynote speakers, obtain cutting-edge training that offers continuing education credits, attend breakout sessions with subject-matter experts across the state, engage in networking during conference receptions, interact with new industry technologies, experience static displays at the Provo Airport, and much more. Registration includes all meals during the conference.
 

The Utah Aeronautics Conference will feature a variety of training sessions on Monday, May 9 from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. The drone pilots track provides training on sUAS safety practices and risk mitigation techniques. This course is a $495 value but is included at no additional cost in the registration fee.

Attendees will learn best practices for sUAS operations including normal, abnormal, and emergency procedures, maintenance checks, battery management, safe launch / land procedures, crew communication, and understanding potential flight issues. Training includes pre- and post-testing and attendees will receive a Certificate of Completion for Safety & Risk Management. More information on training tracks can be found at utahaero.com/training.

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