Guardian Flight, a Global Medical Response company, has acquired Sunrise Air Ambulance and its four air medical transport bases in Arizona. Sunrise has a fixed wing and a rotor wing operation at its Show Low, Arizona headquarters as well as fixed wing operations in Springerville and Safford. The acquisition brings Guardian Flight's total dedicated Arizona air medical aircraft to nine, including bases in Chinle, Kayenta, Window Rock and Yuma.

“Now that Sunrise is a part of Guardian Flight's air medical operations our presence in the state will grow even stronger as we are now able to take advantage of its market strength in the region,” says Sunrise CEO and programme director Dr Mike Hayes, who continues to lead the Sunrise bases. “We continue to deliver the highest quality affordable air medical transportation to the communities we serve.”

“We welcome the tremendously experienced and professionally trained Sunrise team of flight and medical providers to Guardian Flight,” adds Guardian Flight senior vice president of operations Randy Lyman. “Adding Sunrise's eastern Arizona bases strengthens our footprint within the state as we begin working more closely with Mount Graham Medical Center, Summit Healthcare and White Mountain Regional Medical Center.”

Guardian Flight, an Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH) company, operates a fleet of approximately 85 fixed and rotor wing aircraft dedicated to air medical flights in the Upper Midwest, Mountain West, Southwest, Alaska and Hawaii. It has a team of approximately 750 professionals that includes clinical providers, pilots, mechanics, trained communicators and support staff.

Guardian Flight companies include Eagle Air Med, serving parts of Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Colorado and Utah; Hawaii Life Flight in Hawaii; and Guardian Flight in Alaska and Wyoming. Companies also include Gallup Med Flight and MedStar in New Mexico; Valley Med Flight in North Dakota, Michigan, Montana and Minnesota; Alaska Regional LifeFlight in Alaska; MountainStar AirCare operating in Utah; North Central AirCare in northern Ohio; and AeroCare Medical Transport serving in Arizona and New Mexico.

AMGH safety standards exceed FAA and other regulatory agency minimums for training and aircraft equipment. It is the country's largest provider of emergent air medical services with more than 100,000 patient transports annually. Across the country, the company has more than 330 air base locations in 38 states with a fleet of more than 400 aircraft. Its team of more than 7,000 professionals is focused on safely transporting and caring for critically ill patients 24/7/365.

Global Medical Response is a medical transportation company formed of AMGH and American Medical Response. With more than 35,000 employees, it delivers medical care primarily in the areas of emergency and patient relocation services, in the US, the District of Columbia and around the world.