Louisiana-headquartered air medical operator and completion centre Metro Aviation turned 40 in 2022 and is continuing its celebrations with its 40th operations customer. Metro will operate one EC145 for Washington County EMS and eventually provide fire suppression operations.

Washington-on-the-Brazos, also called Washington, originated in 1821 as a ferry crossing during the Texas Revolution. In 1836, the town hosted a convention where the Texas Declaration of Independence was issued and a constitution was adopted. Nearly 150 years later, Washington County EMS (WCEMS) began.

“I'm very excited about this new partnership with the Metro family,” says programme director Kevin Deramus. “The Birthplace of Texas, or Washington County, is a rural community in Texas that takes great pride in caring for our citizens and visitors. We have found that this, too, is Metro Aviation's culture from top to bottom, and we could not be happier to partner with it.”

The WCEMS programme covers approximately 700 square miles of Texas, including the Brazo River and Lake Somerville. Separate from the police and fire departments, this third service business model provides an EMS system dedicated solely to pre-hospital care of the sick and injured with multiple assets including the helicopter. WCEMS handles more than 7,000 calls annually and provides emergency and non-emergency transfers, critical care services and rescue paramedic services to the community.

“We are excited to begin operations in Washington County,” says Metro COO Kenny Morrow. “Our organisations share similar philosophies and values. We are very thankful for Judge John Durrenberger and Kevin Deramus for trusting us to serve the citizens of Washington County.”