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Ware County, Georgia, Home To New Air Evac Lifeteam Base
Air Evac Lifeteam, a rural provider of air ambulance services, has expanded its service area in Georgia with the opening of a base in Ware County, Ga.
The base is located in the city of Waycross, Ga., and is sharing land with the Ware County EMS, 911 and Fire Department on Harris Road. Satilla Regional Medical Center is located a few miles from the base.
It is one of more than 88 bases in Air Evac Lifeteam’s network of air ambulance services. Bases are located in rural communities in 14 states throughout the central United States. The base will provide employment for 12 to 15 local employees and will serve communities within a 70-mile radius.
Air Evac Lifeteam, headquartered in West Plains, Mo., is the largest independently owned air ambulance service in the country. The company’s business philosophy is based on the belief that air ambulances should be placed in areas of greatest need – rural communities that are often hours away from lifesaving trauma care.
“People who live in rural communities are three times as likely to die from a critical injury or illness than their counterparts who live in metropolitan areas – mainly due to the amount of time it takes to reach medical care,” said Air Evac Lifeteam President Seth Myers. “Our goal is to decrease that statistic by giving those who’ve chosen to live in rural America equal access to quality health care.
“The opening of this base is part of an ongoing commitment by Air Evac Lifeteam and the health care community in this region to improve access to trauma care for residents of rural America,” Myers said.
“The people of this region are very fortunate to have access to quality health care services through their local hospitals and EMS providers. Our goal is be an extension of that excellent service by providing rapid transport in critical medical situations,” Myers added. “We commend these local officials for recognizing the benefits this lifesaving resource can be to the patients they serve.”
Program Director Tony Sumrow has been with Air Evac Lifeteam since Nov. 2007 and is the permanent director at the Ware County base. He was involved with the new base opening in Cordele, Ga., as well. “I am excited to be here and help provide this service to people in the area. I also want to let people know you do not have to be a member to access our services. If you need air ambulance transport, we will do our best to provide that for you. I want to thank Ware County EMS Director Mark Walker for his assistance in getting the base established here.”
“The biggest advantage to us is the access this will provide us in getting our patients to trauma systems to get appropriate care,” explained Walker. “This is also an advantage for our local hospital who can now transport patients out by air without having to wait for a helicopter to arrive.
“There are air ambulance services in Jacksonville and Savannah, but the closest is still 80 miles away,” he added. “Having the helicopter located here in Ware County is definitely an asset to the people of this county.”
Jack Loback, Director of Emergency at Satilla Regional Medical Center agrees. “This is a great leap forward for the community to have the availability of helicopter transport so close. Currently the closes air service is 30-45 minutes out and this will provide the service in a shorter time to help save lives.
“From the standpoint of pre-hospital services the impact of having the helicopter on-scene at some accidents is tremendous. The way we are structured now, the air ambulance services don’t provide on-scene coverage. This is another great leap forward for the people of Ware County,” he added.
Air Evac Lifeteam crews, which include a registered nurse, paramedic and pilot are on call at each base 24 hours a day. They provide on-the-scene medical care, rapid transport to medical facilities and critical care inter-facility transfers. Each helicopter is equipment with state-of-the-art medical equipment and crewmembers are trained in advanced pre-hospital care so medical care can begin at the scene and continue en route to the hospital.
Air Evac Lifeteam was one of the first air ambulance services in the country to offer a membership program. Members pay an annual fee and, if they are flown by Air Evac Lifeteam, they do not have to pay for the flight. Memberships are valid in all Air Evac Lifeteam service areas so members are covered while traveling through Air Evac Lifeteam service areas.
Annual memberships are $50 for an individual, $55 for a couple and $60 for a household or three or more.
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