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(GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colorado, October 14, 2019) – Black Hills Life Flight, a division of Air Methods, announced it has relocated its rotor wing aircraft to its base in Rapid City, South Dakota to serve the surrounding communities. The base will ensure that residents in the surrounding areas, including across state boarders in Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming, have access to air medical services and the new location will result in quicker response times for emergent and trauma situations.
The decision to relocate assets to Rapid City comes after an extensive review of the local area and its needs, and how Black Hill Life Flight can more efficiently provide that service. With this move, Black Hills Life Flight will operate a rotor wing and fixed wing aircraft in Rapid City staffed with a critical care RN and paramedic and pilot on each transport. In addition, the team will provide critical care air medical services 24/7/365 to the area surrounding Rapid City and across state lines, which is critical given the distance between these communities and trauma centers.
With the continued consolidation and closure of hospitals throughout the U.S., the need for air medical is more critical than ever. Today more than 85 million American live more than an hour drive from Level-1 or -2 trauma centers, which creates an increasing demand for air medical services to ensure that patients have access to necessary care centers.
Black Hills Life Flight, along with all air medical services, provides essential and lifesaving services throughout the country. During missions, highly trained medical teams care for patients with lifesaving interventions to significantly improve patient outcomes. These interventions include providing advanced trauma care such as blood product administration, advanced airway intervention, cardiac/hemodynamic monitoring, ventilator management and vasoactive medication administration and titration. With the continued consolidation of hospitals and the trend towards centers with specialized heart or neurological care, the clinical support and speed of missions is critical to giving patients the best possible outcomes.
“We are acutely aware of the need for air medical services in the entire Black Hills region – and throughout the nation – and are consistently reviewing our operations to ensure we provide the most efficient service and provide the greatest access to care for the region,” said Darryl Crown, regional business development manager of Black Hills Life Flight. “The new Rapid City base will provide that consistency and peace of mind to residents in the surrounding area. We have worked closely with local leaders to ensure that we are able to provide these services to residents when they need it.”
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About Air MethodsAir Methods is the leading air medical service, delivering lifesaving care to more than 70,000 people every year. With nearly 40 years of air medical experience, Air Methods is the preferred partner for hospitals and one of the largest community-based providers of air medical services. United Rotorcraft is the Company’s products division specializing in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. Air Methods’ fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features more than 450 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
Media Contacts:Darryl CrownRegional Business Development Manager, Air Methods(605) 593-6377*protected email*
Megan SmithAmendola Communications for Air Methods(404) 408-3379*protected email*
(DENVER, Colorado, June 7, 2018) – Black Hills Life Flight, an Air Methods program, will open its Spearfish community air medical base this summer. On Monday, the mayor of the City of Spearfish, Dana Boke, signed the contract that approved the base move.
“Air Methods has been a pleasure to work with,” said Mayor Boke. “Their presence in Spearfish will provide a quicker response time in critical life situations for many people and their families. This is very good for Spearfish and all of the surrounding communities.”
The base, which previously operated from Rapid City, will provide emergency air medical services 24/7/365 to Spearfish, as well as Northern Black Hills, eastern Wyoming and Montana, and southern North Dakota. The Life Flight base will be staffed by 13 crew members, which includes EMS pilots, flight nurses, flight paramedics and aviation maintenance technicians, and it will operate a Bell 407 at the Black Hills Airport/Clyde Ice Field and with the support services of Eagle Aviation.
“One in every three of our flights cross state lines,” said Dave Richardson, senior vice president at Air Methods. “This base move will help improve access to critical care services and interventions for more communities.”
The Black Hills Life Flight helicopter is relocating to Spearfish to provide improved response times to the scenes of accidents and inter-facility transports from area hospitals. Black Hills Life Flight / Air Methods will continue to base the airplane operations in Rapid City and the second helicopter operations in Hot Springs, South Dakota.
“We offer a flying ICU, bringing experienced trauma clinicians to the patient. Air medical services serve as a bridge between rural communities and healthcare systems, and we believe that everyone deserves access to these lifesaving services,” added Richardson.
About Air MethodsAir Methods is the leading air medical provider in the U.S., and for more than a decade, its local program Black Hills Life Flight has provided safe and high quality patient care to the residents of the Black Hills and Western South Dakota. The team and aircraft are equipped with the best in air medical technology, including night vision goggles (NVGs).An open house and ribbon cutting event will be scheduled at a later date to allow the public and media to meet the team and view the aircraft at the new base in Spearfish.
(DENVER, Colorado, February 15, 2018) – Even though they are part of the same team stateside, two Air Methods teammates just met for the first time thousands of miles from home.
CW4 Jay Jones, pilot with Tulsa Life Flight based in Riverside, Oklahoma, and SSG Adam Max, paramedic with Black Hills Life Flight based out of Rapid City, South Dakota, were unknowingly stationed together overseas performing a medevac mission to soldiers, sailors and airmen currently serving in harm’s way. Jay is part of Charlie Company 1/244 Assault Helicopter Battalion, and their mission is to support the aircraft that Adam’s unit, Charlie Company 1/189 MEDEVAC, operates.
During a night of conversation and getting to know everyone in their new family, Jay and Adam discovered that they both work for Air Methods, just in different locations.
“It truly is a small world and comfort knowing that we are connected with a different type of family from back home,” said Jones.
This is Jay’s third 12-month deployment and Adam’s fourth. Both will continue to be deployed overseas until late September 2018 and then plan to return back home to their locations and get back to work at Air Methods.
“We both love what we do both at home and overseas,” Max said.
“We enjoy being part of this giant puzzle to get those that need our help on their darkest days back to safety and back home with their families.” Upon returning stateside, Jay plans to spend time with his wife, two daughters and one son. He has plans to do some deer and hog hunting, and go on a few rides on his Harley. He will retire in six years with a total of 39 years with the National Guard; however, he has plans to continue his Air Methods career.
Adam also plans to spend some much-needed time with his family and continue with his career with Air Methods. He will retire from the National Guard in 2021.
“This is honestly the hardest deployment I have ever had to deal with,” he said. “I was always single on my other ones. Now I have a two-year old girl, a six-year-old boy and a loving and supporting wife.”
Both Jay and Adam hope to attend Indoc in Denver together upon their return to catch up before parting ways once again.
“The relationships we make on a deployment usually stick with you for a lifetime,” said Max.