St. Vincent StatFlight Relocating to Huntingburg Airport
By: Matt Crane, Dubois County Free Press / Photo: Facebook
HUNTINGBURG -- St. Vincent StatFlight will relocate its Evansville-based aircraft to the Huntingburg Airport by the end of April.
According to St. Vincent officials, moving the aircraft to the Huntingburg location will place it closer to the major requesting EMS agencies in the area.
In addition to being closer to the calls they receive from the rural area, the StatFlight pilots will be able to take advantage of the Huntingburg Airport’s instrument approach process. That service will allow the crew to respond to incidents in conditions like low clouds, heavy haze and fog that prevented them from doing so in the past.
The new location also puts the St. Vincent aircraft and the St. Vincent brand in an area that makes it the closest aircraft to serve Daviess Community Hospital, Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center and Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, providing the patients with faster access to St. Vincent’s Centers of Excellence.
A crew of 12 people — three registered nurses, three paramedics four pilots and two mechanics — will be stationed at the airport 24/7.
“We are excited about this new growth opportunity that expands the St. Vincent name into the communities that we serve, while at the same time providing the excellent patient care that our flight team is known for,” said Dan Parod, President Southwest Region, St. Vincent.
According to St. Vincent, the impact will be minimal to the Evansville community and those patients who are being transferred out to Louisville or Indianapolis. PHI Air Medical is a partner of St. Vincent and will also operate an aircraft in Greenville, Kentucky that will be able to rapidly respond to transfer requests originating in Kentucky, without any loss of existing service.