June 05, 2023 – An Appalachian Regional Healthcare-branded Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter will soon lift off to provide emergency transport to patients throughout eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.
ARH and Air Evac Lifeteam have worked together to station a medically equipped Branded Flight Program base at Hazard Airport, featuring an ARH-branded Air Evac-owned helicopter and a specially trained medical transport team consisting of a pilot, a registered nurse, and a paramedic. This will provide emergency air ambulance services to critically ill and injured patients and faster response times.
“It is a top priority of ARH to provide quick and excellent emergency care for the Eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia residents we serve. The very important first step to providing this care begins with emergency transport to our hospital locations,” says Hollie Phillips, ARH President and CEO.
“We have a lengthy relationship with AirEvac and look forward to this collaboration which further demonstrates our connection with this opportunity to put our ARH brand on one of AirEvac’s helicopters,” Phillips says. “Further, we are excited to see the expansion of bases throughout our service area, which will provide the people of Appalachia a faster response time and access to greater healthcare in emergencies.”
Janie Ward, the Regional Director of Air Evac says, “This is an exciting collaboration that provides better healthcare access and more EMS services to the area. We’re excited to work alongside of ARH to reduce the time for the patient in emergencies, bring better quality EMS services to the area, and streamline the process of getting medical needs met.”
Air Evac Lifeteam is a Global Medical Response solution. GMR is driving innovative pre-hospital solutions across the country with over 35,600 team members supporting thousands of communities. They pride themselves on being the leaders in medical transportation and mobile medic that delivers unprecedented access to definitive care. GMR is proudly providing care to the area at a moment’s notice, being the largest medical transport company in the world.
“We have had a relationship with ARH since 2003, providing care for the people of Appalachia. We are excited to expand our bases with a branded helicopter. Working alongside of ARH to provide emergent care for the people of Appalachia is an honor!” says Ward.
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), is a not-for-profit health system operating 14 hospitals in Barbourville, Hazard, Harlan, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, as well as multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores and retail pharmacies. ARH employs more than 6,500 people with an annual payroll and benefits of $330 million generated into our local economies. ARH also has a network of more than 600 active and courtesy medical staff members. ARH is the largest provider of care and the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.
About Air Evac Lifeteam, Air Evac Lifeteam is the nation’s leading provider of helicopter air ambulance services. Crews consisting of a pilot, a flight nurse and a flight paramedic, are on duty 7 days a week to respond to the scene of a medical emergency or transport patients between medical facilities. The company operates more than 150 air medical bases across 18 states. For more information, please visit Lifeteam.net.
Air Evac Lifeteam is part of the Global Medical Response family. Global Medical Response, Inc. is the industry-leading air, ground, specialty and residential fire services, and managed medical transportation organization. With more than 36,000 team members, GMR delivers compassionate, quality medical care, primarily in the areas of emergency and patient relocation services in the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.globalmedicalresponse.com.