California Shock Trauma Air Rescue (CALSTAR), a not-for-profit air ambulance company serving northern and central California announced two changes today in its base operations. The organization has suspended operations of its helicopter base located in Jackson, Amador County (CALSTAR 10). The company will also relocate its helicopter base operations, formerly known as CALSTAR 11, from its location at McClellan Park in Sacramento County to Vacaville in Solano County, and consolidate them with existing base operations at the Nut Tree Airport, known as CALSTAR 8.

CALSTAR will continue to serve the communities in Amador and surrounding counties from its bases located in Auburn, Placer County (CALSTAR 3) and South Lake Tahoe (CALSTAR 6).

“The consolidation of our bases announced today will not have a major impact on the communities CALSTAR serves, particularly those who are CALSTAR membership subscribers, as we remain just minutes away by helicopter,” said CALSTAR CEO Lynn Malmstrom.   He continued, “This move will allow us to eliminate redundancies and more efficiently serve the patients who rely on us for safe, rapid transport and exceptional care.”

Malmstrom cited a number of changes in the demand for air transports, notably the opening of three new trauma centers, which will shorten the transport time from accident scenes, as well as the overall drop in trauma transports. “Kaiser South Sacramento, NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield, and Kaiser Vacaville all recently became designated trauma centers. In addition, San Joaquin General in Stockton announced its intention to seek trauma center designation by 2013,” said Malmstrom.

All of CALSTAR’s specialty services such as transports between hospitals and other capabilities will be retained by the combined operation at Vacaville.

Tad Henderson, CALSTAR’s vice president of operations, added that “the all-weather performance of CALSTAR 11’s helicopter as well as its capacity to carry an isolette and neo-natal transport teams from area hospitals will be important to our continued operations at our Vacaville base.”  He went on to emphasize that these moves will have the positive effect of reducing response times for transporting critical patients to specialty centers and expediting delivery of the advanced care that patients and hospital customers rely on CALSTAR to provide.

CALSTAR employees impacted by the changes are being offered positions at the other bases, as well as at the company’s McClellan Park headquarters.

CALSTAR has a 27-year history of providing safe and accident-free transports for more than 45,000 patients.  CALSTAR operates a fleet of 18 helicopters at bases in Ukiah, Vacaville, Concord, Gilroy, Salinas, Santa Maria, Auburn, South Lake Tahoe and two fixed wing aircraft at McClellan.  CALSTAR employs more than 225 individuals.