CHARLESTON -- The local sales manager of the AirEvac Lifeteam told Charleston Rotary members recently that his medical helicopter service and Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center are finalizing plans to provide more efficient services.
Mark Burris with the AirMedCare Network said his company is working with SBLHC officials to build a new helipad and a building to house the helicopter, according to a press release. Currently, the closest air evacuation helicopter is based in Effingham, Burris said.
All bases have a pilot and paramedics available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for hospital transports and accident responses.
Most of the AirEvac Lifeteam’s work is with rural hospitals by transferring patients to facilities that provide special services.
Burris said if Sarah Bush has a patient who needs immediate service in Springfield, for instance, it would take the AirEvac helicopter about 40 minutes to get the patient there, rather than the two hours to drive.
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He said the emergency helicopter transport currently averages two flights a day from Coles County.
The AirMedCare Network has 12 helicopter bases in Illinois. In addition to Effingham, other bases include Jacksonville and Olney in Illinois, plus Brazil, Ind.
He said the ‘copter medical service began in 1985 in West Plains, Mo., by two nurses who were frustrated by losing patients en route by vehicle to a larger hospital. They sold “memberships” that guaranteed transport if needed. The effort was successful and has grown through the years, Burris said.
The company is privately held and receives no tax dollars, he said. Burris is in the area selling memberships. For instance, if someone is age 60 or older and a member of a participating organization, such as the chamber of commerce, that person can pay an annual fee of $65 for guaranteed flight coverage for the individual and immediate family.
Burris said out-of-pocket expenses for emergency air medical transport average $18,000.
The Charleston Rotary Club meets at noon on Tuesdays at the Charleston Public Library. Rotary is a service organization with much of the Charleston club’s work benefiting youth. Charleston Rotary sponsors Jefferson School Leadership Awards, Interact Club at the high school as well as sponsoring high school exchange students and a scholarship at a CHS graduate attending Eastern Illinois University. In addition, the club recently completed a three-year, $30,000 project to assist with technology needs in Charleston schools.