Great Plains Health will launch a new medical air ambulance service in the region beginning Nov.1. The new service, owned and operated by Air Methods, is called Great Plains Health LifeNet.

“Our rapidly expanding medical specialty offerings at Great Plains Health and the strategic need for predictable medical air transport long term are really what prompted the entry of an additional helicopter service in our region,” said Dr. James Smith, medical director of Great Plains Health LifeNet and Great Plains Health emergency services. 

The program will add an additional 16 full-time and four part-time employees to the area in professions that include pilots, nurses, paramedics and an aircraft mechanic. Great Plains Health will continue to utilize Midwest Medical Transport for ground medical transportation.

Great Plains Health’s partner, Air Methods, currently provides services for more than 300 bases of operation in 48 states throughout the nation.

“Air Methods is a company that aligns with our philosophy of patient and employee safety first,” said 

Tadd Greenfield, Great Plains Health chief clinical officer. “It follows strict medical and air-transport protocols developed to ensure quality, safety, positive outcomes and best industry standards.”

The new aircraft, which will arrive in North Platte in November, is a Eurocopter (EC) 135 twin-engine helicopter. This is the same aircraft that is currently providing about 25 percent of the world’s total emergency medic service flights. “The aircraft features some of the most advanced emergency medical equipment,” said Dr. Smith.

Great Plains Health LifeNet medical air transport service will fly a radius of approximately 250 miles around North Platte. The aircraft will be housed at North Platte Regional Airport.