Air Methods Buying Out Flight For Life Base In Mchenry

From the Lake & McHenry County Scanner:

By Sam Borcia | March 6, 2020 5:51 pm

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Flight For Life is pulling out of Illinois after more than 30 years of providing air medical transport after Air Methods bought their McHenry base at Northwestern Medicine Hospital.

Flight For Life Public Information Officer Tammy Chatman told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that an agreement has been reached with Air Methods, the largest air medical provider in the United States.

That agreement means that Air Methods will take over the Flight For Life McHenry base, which is located at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital.

The Air Method pilots and mechanics will not change, and the current Flight For Life medical crew will transition their employment to Air Methods.

“As a non-profit organization, FFL has had to make some very difficult decisions regarding our McHenry base as a result of the declining volume,” a letter sent to local fire departments said.

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A rebranding of the name, aircraft, and dispatch number will be part of the transition. The agreement says the transition will take place throughout March and be completed on April 6.

“No interruption in service to the community will occur at any time preceding or while this transition takes place. Our team is confident that Air Methods will maintain the high level of patient care and customer service that our customers have come to expect,” the letter said.

Flight For Life will maintain its current operations in Wisconsin and their ground ambulance bases will not be affected.

Chatman also told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that Flight For Life could still respond to Illinois from one of their Wisconsin bases when requested.

“We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the fire/EMS agencies, hospitals, dispatch centers, and law enforcement agencies who have partnered with Flight For Life in the northern Illinois area over the years,” the letter ended.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.