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Air Evac Lifeteam Cleared in Government Inquiry

Air Evac Lifeteam | October 5, 2009

Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 13 seconds.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has notified Air Evac Lifeteam that the company has been cleared in an investigation that began in May 2007 with the execution of search warrants at the company’s headquarters in West Plains, Mo., according to Air Evac Lifeteam President and CEO Seth Myers. Myers said the DOJ has completed its investigated and has declined to take further action in the matter. This decision comes without any financial penalty, settlement, prosecution or other enforcement action.

“After a lengthy and thorough inquiry, we are pleased with the government’s decision to end its investigation without any financial penalty or other enforcement action,” Myers said. “We want to extend our deep appreciation to the many hospitals, EMS agencies, first responders, accrediting bodies, suppliers, communities, members and employees who supported Air Evac Lifeteam with their belief in our organization and for their cooperation throughout this process. A cornerstone value of Air Evac Lifeteam is an expectation to do the right thing, which was demonstrated not only in the result of this investigation but in the significant time and resources expended by our company to respond to the inquiry and fully cooperate with the government’s process.”

Prior to the Justice Department’s decision to end its inquiry, a Special Committee of the Air Evac Lifeteam Board of Directors conducted an independent investigation with outside third-party legal and other experts, and concluded that Air Evac is operating and has operated its business in compliance with the applicable laws. The independent investigation, informed by numerous meetings and conversations with government officials, included extensive reviews and audits of (i) the company’s membership program; (ii) medical necessity of transports, as well as the billing, collection and receipt of patients’ co-payments; (iii) relationships with referral sources and (iv) clinical and billing documentation of patient transports. The Company and the Special Committee cooperated fully with the Justice Department’s inquiry. Matt Whitworth, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri (the district in which the company’s headquarters is located), stated in a letter to Air Evac that: “The United States acknowledges and appreciates the extensive cooperation by the company throughout this investigation.”

About Air Evac
Air Evac EMS, Inc., doing business as Air Evac Lifeteam and Texas Lifestar, is the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air medical service in the United States, conducting its operations through 88 mutually-supporting air medical bases across 14 states. The company has established itself as the preeminent provider of air ambulance services to rural markets, serving over 1,700 diverse referral sources, including over 1,000 hospitals and 700 EMS agencies, and attracting more than 800,000 members in support of its presence in their local communities. The current service area includes operations in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia, with the company being the largest air ambulance provider in 8 of its 14 states.

With over 200,000 patients transported since its founding in 1985, Air Evac’s aviation operations are “Gold” rated by the Aviation Research Group (ARG/US) and, in 2008 and 2007, Air Evac received the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Operator’s Safety Award for a safety record twice as good as the helicopter industry average (HAI’s membership average). The company is the largest air medical provider operating under one name to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) and its medical training center leads the air medical industry as an approved provider of courses and educational training by the American Heart Association (AHA), National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and Continuing Education Coordinating Board of Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS).

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