EagleMed critical care air medical transport company performed well in 2014, adding locations, aircraft and employees. During the year, EagleMed employment grew from about 400 to more than 475, serving at 30 locations in 13 states throughout the United States.

The company added critical care air medical transport operations in Houston, Texas; Cody Wyo.; and Butte, Mont. The company also added five medically equipped Beechcraft King Air twin-engine turboprop aircraft, bringing its King Air fleet to 20 aircraft and complementing its 14 air medical helicopters.

Planned Growth

“In 2014, we successfully executed a planned program of growth that lays the foundation for continued expansion in 2015,” said EagleMed President Larry Bugg. “EagleMed was also recognized for some extraordinary safety accomplishments in 2014.”

The company earned an ARGUS Platinum Rating in 2014, the highest and most prestigious ARGUS safety rating. EagleMed is the largest air medical transport company and one of only two in the nation to achieve the coveted ARGUS Platinum Rating.

Further, EagleMed entered Level 3 of the Federal Aviation Administration’s voluntary Safety Management System (SMS). EagleMed is dedicated to the safety of its patients, crewmembers and the organization, as demonstrated by adopting SMS as a higher standard for safety in the air medical transportation industry.

“These safety achievements are important milestones in our continuous quest for quality and safety improvement and it represents our enduring commitment to our employees and the patients we serve,” said Bugg.

2014 Announcements

In other 2014 activities, EagleMed contracted with Yingling Aviation, located in Wichita, to convert a Beechcraft King Air B200 to critical care air medical configuration for dedicated emergency and inter-facility flights. Yingling removed the executive interior and installed Spectrum dual bed modular air ambulance advanced life support systems approved for medical operations.

EagleMed began installing Genesys Aerosystems HeliSAS 2-axis autopilot and stability augmentation system on its medically-equipped Airbus helicopters. EagleMed’s entire fleet of Airbus AS350 helicopters will receive the system over the next few years.

Also in the safety arena, EagleMed enlisted Baldwin Safety & Compliance as an additional resource for safety management system needs. Baldwin Safety & Compliance, headquartered in South Carolina, is a recognized leader in customized safety management and business solutions.

EagleMed selected Metro Aviation as its preferred provider of helicopter simulator training for its pilots, to be conducted at Metro’s Helicopter Flight Training Center located in Shreveport, La. EagleMed’s four-year commitment utilizes Metro Aviation’s Eurocopter AS350 Level 7 Flight
Training Device.

The company installed an automated weather observing system at Eagle Pass, Texas enabling the company’s fixed-wing aircraft to serve patients in the region during inclement weather.

EagleMed appointed David W. Fairbanks, M.D., as Medical Director for the company’s Wyoming base, where the company flies air medical operations serving communities and hospitals throughout Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin.

In addition, in 2014, EagleMed commissioned an innovative Mobile Air Medical Education Unit to simulate medical operations inside the company’s airplanes and helicopters. It is an enhanced teaching aid for EagleMed’s clinical practitioners.

Safety Focus

EagleMed’s senior aviation, maintenance, and safety leadership has a combined total of more than 150 years of aviation operational experience. Recognized as a leader in the industry, the organization and its employees received the 2013 Chairman’s Award and the 2010 President’s Award for Leadership and Safety from the Association of Air Medical Services. EagleMed also received the 2011 Safety Award from the Helicopter Association International, Best Practice in
Just Culture from CAMTS, and the 2012 Pilot of the Year Award from the National EMS Pilots Association.

EagleMed leverages technology through its web-based Learning Management System and ISBAO registered Baldwin SMSlite™ system to deliver regulatory, aircraft-specific, air medical resource management, SMS, risk management, just culture, threat and error management, OSHA safety compliance training and safety report data tracking and analysis. EagleMed maintains a technologically advanced Communications Center with satellite tracking and communications for 24/7 oversight and medical direction and dispatch provided by a cadre of emergency physicians and highly trained communication staff that are certified emergency
medical technicians.EagleMed’s experienced and proficient team of commercial instrument rated rotor and Airline Transport Pilot rated fixed wing pilots undergo extensive hands-on training every six months including FlightSafety International simulation training.

About EagleMed LLC

EagleMed LLC, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., is a privately owned and operated critical care air medical and ground transport service. A subsidiary of Air Medical Group Holdings Inc., EagleMed has provided safe, world-class patient care to patients and communities in the Midwest for more than 30 years. EagleMed has more than 475 highly trained employees and operates an extensive fleet of 14 medically equipped Airbus AS350 B2/B3 helicopters, 20 Beechcraft King Air fixed-wing aircraft, and six ground ambulances in 13 States. For more information, please visit flyeaglemed.com.

About AirMedCare

EagleMed is a membership-supported air ambulance service that is part of the AirMedCare Network. AirMedCare is America’s largest air medical transport membership network, providing emergency access to the highest levels of care for its 1.5 million subscribers. The AirMedCare Network combines the membership programs of four leading air ambulance operators: EagleMed, REACH, Air Evac Lifeteam and Med-Trans Corporation. For more information about memberships, visit joineaglemed.com.