A celebration in August recognised the 10th anniversary of Florida’s LeeFlight air medical service. Crew members, community leaders and guests came together at its Page Field hangar in Fort Myers for the festivities. LeeFlight is a partnership between Lee County and Air Methods. It operates an Airbus EC135 helicopter and is staffed by EMS personnel from both companies.

“LeeFlight has operated in partnership with Air Methods for the last 10 years, providing safe and fiscally responsible air medical transportation to the southwest Florida community,” says Lee County director of public safety Ben Abes. “The team provides around-the-clock critical care medicine to those who need medical treatment or immediate, life-saving transportation to specialty medical centres around the region. We’re proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this partnership and look forward to seeing the programme grow with the community in the future.”

“We are incredibly proud of the programme we have built with Lee County,” says Matt Turner, Air Methods vice president of customer experience. “We measure our success by the lives we touch and the trust we build in the community. In 10 years we have made a tremendous difference for the people of Lee County. Our crew is the best in the industry and they are passionate about serving this community for years to come.”

Air Methods has also been operating the Wyoming Life Flight aeromedical programme, which celebrated 40 years of emergency air medical care with a special gathering, where crew members past and present, community leaders and former patients came together at the Wyoming Life Flight hangar at Casper-Natrona County International airport.

“This anniversary is a big deal to us because it signifies how much we are tied to Wyoming, and the communities here continue to trust in our ability to treat and take care of their sickest, most fragile patients,” says Air Methods area manager Jeremy Littleton.

Casper mayor Bruce Knell says: “We are grateful for the excellent care Wyoming Life Flight has provided across the state for the past 40 years. With so many of our residents living far from a hospital, we rely on this team to provide the highest level of emergency care to our friends, family members and neighbours while getting them to a hospital as quickly as possible. The fact that Wyoming Life Flight is still serving the state after 40 years is a testament to both the quality of the care it provides and its commitment to the people of our state.”