Medical chopper service might return to Trimble
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
Trimble County and the surrounding area may be getting its medical helicopter services back within the next month.
The Milton Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department is working on a deal with Air Methods to run the service.
Air Methods has not been operating in Trimble County for the past three years. Personnel issues led to the service being discontinued.
Former fire chief Ronnie Barnes and current Chief Jason Long have been discussing the possibility of a deal with Air Methods, an air ambulance company based in Denver. Barnes said both sides are enthusiastic about the new deal.
They last met on Monday, and Barnes said he came out feeling "very positive." If a deal is reached, an official announcement about the partnership is expected next week at the earliest.
The deal isn't final yet and there is a very slim chance, according to Barnes, that the deal could fall through.
"It's possible, I guess. But if it does, we've got two other services waiting to come in," he said. "We're putting a helicopter service in there."
Air Methods ran the previous medical helicopter service at Milton Fire Station 2, but Barnes said he feels better this time around based on the people he's working with.
"It's a new management, more or less," Barnes said."It seems like they've got a new attitude."
Barnes said the argreement would not require any money from the city or county government, and the fire department would actually make money from the deal. The volunteer fire department owns the property where the helipad is located and would lease the property to Air Methods. Any funds necessary for the site or for operations would be provided by Air Methods.
"It's a win-win situation for the people," Barnes said.
The major benefit for this program is how quickly people are able to get help. Barnes said the flight from Louisville to the Trimble County area could take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes for a helicopter.
In the case of an emergency, every additional minute becomes precious time. With a helicopter in the area, that time is dramatically reduced.
"That's fantastic when you have a paramedic and flight nurse on scene when you get there," Barnes said.