AIR EVAC EXPANDS COMMITMENT TO LIFE-SAVING FLIGHTS

Air Evac has added a fourth helicopter to its regional services. The new aircraft will be stationed at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

The commitment is a major one. The helicopter itself costs more than $750,000, and the daily overhead runs about $3,000.

The company provides helicopters based at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau and hospitals at West Plains and at Jonesboro, Ark.

This new helicopter went into operation last Friday and will be available for local calls 12 hours a day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That's the peak time for air ambulance calls -- about 65 percent of all trauma calls come on the weekends. The timing is also advantageous. Air Evac said the number of trauma calls always increases during the summer months.

During the other days of the week, the helicopter will be used at other hospitals in southern Missouri, Southern Illinois, western Kentucky and northwest Arkansas.

When both Cape Girardeau hospitals looked at getting an air ambulance, people wondered if there would be enough business. Even in metropolitan areas, there are few air ambulances. But the rural nature of the region has proved a real need for these life-saving air ambulances.

Air Evac has made more than 12,000 flights and flown more than a million miles since it was established. The company averages about 185 flights a month, of which 70 percent of the calls involve some kind of trauma.

Since September 1994, Air Evac has served as a fixed-base operator at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The company is also looking at additional expansion eastward with the local airport serving as the regional hub.

That's certainly good news. The more activity at the Cape Girardeau airport the better. This growth by Air Evac and its rural ambulance service will boost both local medical services and the regional airport.