Beginning Aug. 1, 2019, Acadian Air Med is partnering with Metro Aviation to operate the Life Air Rescue program in Shreveport, Louisiana. Acadian will provide certified flight paramedics, certified flight RNs and dispatch personnel, as well as operational and managerial staff. Metro Aviation will provide air transportation pilots and maintenance staff. The majority of Life Air Rescue’s current employees will join Acadian Air Med.
Acadian Air Med program director Michael Sonnier said, “As we build our statewide air medical network, we are excited to add Life Air Rescue’s Shreveport-based operations. We are dedicated to providing the same high level of service that residents and the medical community have come to expect from Life Air Rescue.”
The Life Air Rescue helicopter is a medically configured, twin-engine, IFR-rated Airbus EC135. It will join Acadian Air Med’s fleet of 10 helicopters based across Louisiana and Southeast Texas. All Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) part 135 aviation services are provided by Metro Aviation, Inc., which maintains exclusive operational control over all aircraft.
“Expanding our air medical network into the Shreveport area has been a goal of Acadian’s for quite a while. Earlier this year, we added an Air Med helicopter in Ouachita Parish and we have been very well received by the medical community in that area. We look forward to serving the residents of the greater Shreveport area,” said Acadian chairman and CEO Richard Zuschlag.
Life Air Rescue was formed in 1993 to provide service for the Ark-La-Tex region. Since then, Life Air Rescue has transported approximately 600 patients per year and strives to uphold the highest standards in emergency and critical care transport. Their service radius covers north Louisiana, east Texas, south Arkansas and west Mississippi.
Acadian Air Med, a division of Acadian Ambulance, was founded in 1981 and operates a fleet of 11 medically configured helicopters and five fixed-wing aircraft from bases strategically located throughout Louisiana and Southeast Texas. They are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS), the gold standard for air ambulance services in the United States.
Acadian Ambulance is one of the largest ambulance services in the nation, offering emergency and non-emergency transportation to areas in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. They are employee-owned and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services.
