Harlan ARH Hospital, a facility of Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc., and Air Evac Lifeteam, an independently owned air ambulance provider, have announced plans to join forces in Harlan to open an air ambulance services base on the hospital campus.

The base will be one of more than 86 bases in Air Evac Lifeteam’s network of air ambulance services, and its seventh base in Kentucky. Tentatively, the base is scheduled to open for operation in mid-August.

“The construction of this base and the expansion of other ambulance services related to it will result in a significant improvement of emergency response and medical transportation services to the people in our hospital’s service area,” said Dan Stone, Harlan ARH Community CEO.

“This will be a full-service partnership between Harlan ARH and Air Evac Lifeteam that will create new opportunities for employment and better care for patients,” he added. “We are looking forward to mutual success with this partnership.”

The new base will provide employment with Air Evac Lifeteam for 12 to 15 individuals and serve communities in the Harlan area.

Air Evac Lifeteam, headquartered in West Plains, Mo., is the largest independently owned air ambulance service in the country. Since its founding in 1985, Air Evac has transported more than 180,000 patients in need, serving as the critical link to improved response time and immediate access to medical care facilities across 14 states.

Air Evac Lifeteam President Seth Myers said the company is excited about expanding its service area into Harlan.

“Our mission is to save lives and positively impact outcomes during life- or-limb-threatening medical emergencies, and we can do this by providing rapid access to definitive emergency health care,” said Myers. “Our goal is to provide quality health care to area residents, and we have unwavering dedication to our mission.

“The opening of this base is part of an ever-expanding commitment by Air Evac Lifeteam and the health care community in this region to improve access to trauma care for residents of the Harlan area. The people of this region are very fortunate to have access to quality health care services through their local hospitals and EMS providers. Our goal is to be an extension of that excellent service by providing rapid transport in critical medical situations.”

Air Evac Lifeteam was one of the first air ambulance services in the country to offer a membership program. Members pay an annual fee and if they are flown by Air Evac Lifeteam for life- or limb-threatening medical emergencies, they do not have to pay for the flight. Memberships are valid throughout Air Evac Lifeteam service areas, so members are covered while traveling through Air Evac Lifeteam service areas. Annual memberships are $50 for an individual, $55 for a couple and $60 for a household or three or more.

For more information, call (800) 793-0010 or visit www.lifeteam.net.