Cheyenne Regional Medical Center is expanding its emergency care across the region with the addition of an AirLife Denver medical helicopter service in Cheyenne. The new service is a partnership between Cheyenne Regional and HCA-HealthONE, which operates AIRLIFE Denver.

Cheyenne Regional’s new blue and sonic green helicopter will be stationed in Cheyenne and will provide air ambulance coverage for southern Wyoming, western Nebraska and northern Colorado communities starting in early 2012.

“One of the keys to providing the best healthcare is to provide that care quickly,” said Dr. John Lucas, Cheyenne Regional CEO. “Having an air ambulance based in Cheyenne will help us do just that. Medical transportations that once took an hour or more will now take only minutes. Whether it is a trauma from a car accident or person suffering a heart attack, we will now be able provide high-level care in a fraction of the time it historically has taken.”

Cheyenne Regional will also have access to two AirLife Lear Jet 31s through the new partnership. These jets have a top speed of 500 mph, are equipped with superior safety systems for extreme weather conditions and will offer another means of providing emergency care and transport for patients in this region. The service will provide a primary flight nurse team as well as four AirLife specialty teams—High-Risk Obstetrics, Neonatal transport, Intra-aortic balloon pump team, and a Stroke-Certified Transport team.

“Rapid access, combined with quality critical care services during transport to higher levels of care, is proven to significantly improve patient outcomes,” said Dr. Lucas. “That is our goal—to save lives and offer the best possible chance for recovery.”

The partnership is part of a national trend toward locating medical helicopters on the perimeter of metropolitan areas to provide quicker access to more rural communities.

“This new partnership will allow Cheyenne Regional and AirLife to reach more patients, in more areas, more quickly, while providing the high-quality care our patients and partners seek and deserve, 24 hours a day,” says Jana Williams, program director for AirLife Denver.