UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital has finalized an agreement with Med-Trans Corp. to become the new aviation partner for LifeGuard Air Ambulance.

Over the past several months St. Luke’s evaluated multiple opportunities to strengthen its air ambulance program. The hospital’s goal is to provide 24/7 air ambulance coverage to patients and emergency response teams. The new partnership with Med-Trans makes this possible. As part of the agreement, Med-Trans will provide all traditional aviation services to include; training, maintenance, pilot coverage and back-up aircrafts as needed for the LifeGuard program. St. Luke’s will continue to provide the flight team that consists of a registered nurse and paramedic for adults or a registered nurse and respiratory therapist for Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) flights. Full-time pilots were retained and became employees of Med-Trans Corp.

“In 2011, St. Luke’s LifeGuard was unable to provide service for 105 days due to weather or maintenance issues,” said Sandi McIntosh, St. Luke’s LifeGuard director. “With our new partnership with Med-Trans, achieving peak uptime performance will be possible through their progressive maintenance planning and access to backup aircraft for extended down times, allowing us to be more responsive and to better serve our patients and emergency responders.”

“Given the legacy of LifeGuard and the Cedar Rapids community support surrounding the program, we are truly honored to be chosen as their new aviation partner,” stated Tom Rohlfs VP of business development for Med-Trans Corp.

Med-Trans was selected by St. Luke’s because of their known commitments to safety, quality, reliability and customer service. Med-Trans has been serving the air transport needs for multiple healthcare entities for more than 30 years, has 58 programs in 19 states. St. Luke’s is the 58th program with Med-Trans.

As part of the agreement with Med-Trans the hospital’s 1997 Bell 407 helicopter has been replaced with a 2013 Bell 407. This is the fourth helicopter since the program began. Thousands of individuals have been helped by St. Luke’s LifeGuard Air Ambulance since it came into service 32 years ago. The blue helicopter has been a familiar sight in the skies around Cedar Rapids since February 23, 1981. Since its first flight, LifeGuard has flown 7,568 flights.

About UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital:
St. Luke’s is a fully accredited 532-bed hospital serving a five-county area surrounding Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1884 as Cedar Rapids’ first hospital, today it offers a wide range of patient care services with strengths in cardiac care, obstetrics, neonatology, pediatrics, rehabilitation, behavioral health, general surgery, trauma care and senior services. St. Luke’s Hospital is nationally recognized as a Top 100 and Magnet Hospital.

About Med-Trans:
Med-Trans Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a leading provider of air ambulance programs in selected locations throughout the United States, focused on establishing partnerships with leading hospital systems, medical centers and EMS agencies to provide customized air medical programs through specialized delivery formats, including alternative delivery models, community based models or traditional hospital-based models. The company’s extensive fleet delivers teams of highly trained medical and flight professionals to patients requiring emergency medical care and transports the patient to the appropriate medical facility.