Audio clip
Fred Buttrell
Erlanger hospital’s board of trustees approved a $12.1 million sale of hospital helicopters and the transfer of 16 pilots and mechanics to Texas-base Med-Trans Corp. on Thursday evening.
The deal is effective immediately, said Roger Forgey, Erlanger vice president of regional operations and business development.
Life Force will continue to use hospital flight nurses and paramedics, but Med-Trans will take control of the hospital’s aging fleet of helicopters and handle patient billing, Mr. Forgey said.
“In terms of care, you have the same high-quality crew,” said Jim Brexler, Erlanger president and chief executive officer. “Our patient care should be second to none as it always has been.”
Nurses, paramedics and flight nurses remain employees of Erlanger but will be flying with the Med-Trans pilots in helicopters.
The medical care remains under the control of the hospital, but Med-Trans will bill for its services and buy medical supplies from Erlanger at fair market value, according to the resolution approved Thursday.
The deal has the support of the pilots, who stood behind hospital and Med-Trans leaders at a news conference after the trustees vote.
“I feel very strongly in support of this partnership,” said Steve Stroughen, Life Force’s director. “I think it provides us the opportunity to expand our capabilities and serve the public better.”
Erlanger’s current fleet of helicopters is nearly 20 years old. The aircraft are up-to-date with the latest technology, but they fly more slowly than other crafts on the market today, officials said. It would have cost the hospital $20 million to replace them, trustee Bruce Adams said.
Fred Buttrell, president and CEO of Med-Trans, said the company immediately would replace the oldest and slowest Life Force helicopter, and he said patients would pay roughly the same price for services.
“From the patient’s point of view, I don’t think they are going to see a difference,” Mr. Buttrell said. “The patient that needs us and counts on us (is) going to have us there on the spot.”
WHAT IS LIFE FORCE?
Life Force is Erlanger hospital’s air medical program, based at the downtown campus in Chattanooga. The program began operation in 1988 with one helicopter, added a second in 1995 and added a third, based in Calhoun, Ga., three years ago.
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
