AirLife North Carolina, a division of Air Methods, announced it has opened its newest base in Lumberton, North Carolina, to serve the surrounding community. The new base, which will be located at the Lumberton Rescue Squad, will ensure that residents in the area have access to air medical services and the new location will result in quicker response times for emergent and trauma situations.
AirLife North Carolina, 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, from providing trauma care after an accident to administering clot-busting medications that must be given shortly after a major stroke to significantly improve outcomes. 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.
The decision to open a new base in Robeson County comes after an extensive review of the local area and its needs. 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.
“It’s a new day for prehospital care in Robeson County. As an EMS system, we are ecstatic to partner with Air Methods to provide this invaluable service to our citizens,” said Patrick Cummings, EMS director and system administrator for Robeson County.
“We consistently evaluate and identify services that will benefit the community, and the addition of air medical services is absolutely one of those items. Having Air Methods in the Lumberton area will be a huge asset to everyone in the region and will provide additional support for emergent and trauma situations,” said Robert Ivey, commander of the Lumberton Rescue Squad.
AirLife North Carolina will provide air medical services 24/7/365 to Lumberton and surrounding communities. The base will be staffed by 12 crew members, including four pilots, three flight nurses, three flight paramedics and two mechanics, and it will operate an Airbus EC135 helicopter.
“We are thrilled to be part of the Lumberton community and serve the residents with this critical capability,” said Tony Raymond, RN, CMTE, regional director of AirLife North Carolina. “We know that access to critical care services quickly and efficiently continues to be a key concern for residents around the nation, including in rural areas. For this reason, we have worked closely with local leaders to make sure that our services are available to the residents so they can be assured they will be well taken care of should they ever need it.”
