Air ambulances Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

in the United States are operated by a variety of hospitals, local government agencies, and for-profit companies. Medical evacuations by air are also performed by the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

(for example in combat areas, training accidents, and

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

rescues) and

United States National Guard The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Medicare and

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

patients. This caused an increase in the number of for-profit ambulance services, which charge much higher rates than non-profit hospitals and expanded services available to people with private health insurance. With lower reimbursements, hospitals could still operate the service as a loss leader because severely injured patients would be incurring significant charges for medical treatment. NPR cited one 2008 case where two patients were transported from the same accident scene to the same hospital, where the hospital charged $1,700 and the private service charged $13,000.

List of air ambulances

Gulfstream Air Ambulance being loaded with patient by medics and nurses for a Mercy Jets medical transport

* Acadian Ambulance & Air Med Services – Headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, covers most of the state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and parts of western

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. * AirCare – with CHI Health Good Samaritan. - The first Nebraska air-medical transport service outside of Omaha, NE. In continuous operation since 1982. Covering all of central Nebraska and north Kansas. * Air Evac Lifeteam – the largest medical transport program under one name, covers Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Also operates Texas LifeStar in Central Texas. * AirLife Georgia (

Air Methods Corporation Air Methods Corporation is an American privately owned helicopter operator. The air medical division provides emergency medical services to over 100,000 patients every year. It operates in 48 states with air medical as its primary business focus ...

) – Serving the state of Georgia and surrounding states. AirLife Georgia is accredited by CAMTS. * Airlift Northwest - non-profit program of the University of Washington School of Medicine and Harborview Medical Center serving Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. * AirMed International – Based in Birmingham, Alabama *

Air Methods Air Methods Corporation is an American privately owned helicopter operator. The air medical division provides emergency medical services to over 100,000 patients every year. It operates in 48 states with air medical as its primary business focus ...

– Largest US air ambulance operator under a single FAA part 135 certificate. * AMR Air Ambulance – Provides domestic and international air medical transportation using specially equipped fixed wing aircraft. * ARCH Air Medical Service –

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, and the surrounding regions. * Boston MedFlight – Headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts Boston MedFlight transports emergency patients * Calstar (California Shock Trauma Air Rescue) is a nonprofit regional

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

company serving California and northern Nevada. * CareFlite – a 501c not-for-profit that is based in Dallas Texas area and sponsored by Baylor Scott & White Hospitals, Parkland Hospital, THR hospitals, JPS Hospital, and Methodist Hospitals. * Carolina Aire Care - Carolina Air Care is a CAMTS accredited critical care and emergency transportation agency serving North Carolina and surrounding areas. Headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC is a nonprofit regional air ambulance. *

CareFlight CareFlight is an air medical service headquartered in Westmead, New South Wales, Australia. History CareFlight was founded in Sydney, Australia in May 1986 as an aeromedical charity. Its mission is to save lives, speed recovery ...

– serves the

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

region and a radius to serve much of Southwest Ohio. Based at

Miami Valley Hospital Miami Valley Hospital (MVH) is a large urban hospital in Dayton, Ohio, and is a member of the Premier Health Partners network. The hospital has two additional locations; Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville, Ohio, and Miami Valley Hospital ...

* Critical Air Medicine – Doing business as Critical Air, is based in San Diego, California * EastCare – University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina owned, and operates in

Eastern North Carolina Eastern North Carolina (sometimes abbreviated as ENC) is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina include the Sandhil ...

* Flight for Life – many bases of operation across the United States * Life Flight – Air ambulance based out of the Memorial Hermann Hospital- Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. *

Life Flight Network Life Flight Network is a non profit air and ground critical care transport service based in Aurora, Oregon, in the northern Willamette Valley, with services in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana in the United States. Operations Service ...

– Largest non-profit air ambulance in the US, serving Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. * LifeNet, Inc. – Based in Texarkana, Texas with operations also out of

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

. * UT Lifestar - Based out of

University of Tennessee Medical Center The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC) is an academic medical center located in Knoxville, Tennessee and serves as a referral center for East Tennessee and regions in Kentucky and North Carolina. The University of Tennessee Graduate Sch ...

in Knoxville, Tennessee. Operates from 5 bases in the East Tennessee region. * Maryland State Police Aviation Command – division focusing on medical evacuation operations. Aviation also supports ground units of the state and local police. Funding comes from

vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...

fees.Maryland State Police Aviation Command
* Medflight – Based out of Columbus, Ohio. * Mercy Flights – Medford, Oregon. Was the first successful air ambulance in the country, is non-profit. Serves mainly Southern Oregon and Northern California; radius for helicopter, and almost anywhere West of the Rocky Mountains for the fixed wing airplane, within of Medford. * Metro Life Flight –

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, run by

MetroHealth The MetroHealth System is a nationally ranked non-profit, public health care system located in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1837 as City Hospital, The MetroHealth System serves the residents of the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. It is one ...

, serves the Northeast Ohio area. Operates both air and ground services. * Omniflight Charleston – Air ambulance service in South Carolinaand part of Georgia. *Superior Ambulance in Elmhurst Illinois serves IL, IN, WI, MI * STAT Medevac – based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

* Survival Flight – Ann Arbor,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

– CAMTS certified critical care transport program of Michigan Medicine, provides rapid and safe transport of critically ill and injured patients of any age group. * Trauma Hawk Aero-Medical Program –

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

taxpayer funded – trauma transport only * Travis County STAR Flight –

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

– Public emergency helicopter service for

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

and surrounding areas. * University of Wisconsin MedFlight

References

{{Emergency medicine Air ambulance services in the United States

List of air ambulances

See also

References