NorthStar Brings Air Medical Transport to Tuscaloosa

 NorthStar EMS Inc., Tuscaloosa’s exclusive EMS Transport Service and Alabama’s largest private EMS provider announced Tuesday they would bring Air Medical Service to Tuscaloosa and surrounding counties. 

Edgar Calloway with NorthStar EMS,  stopped in the 95.3 The Bear studios to tell us about it.

Check out the official press release below

After 21 years of growth and success, beginning in Northport in 1992, NorthStar will add to the existing fleet of over 100 EMS vehicles an A-Star medical helicopter designed to provide critical care transport and rescue services.

After almost 3 years of negotiation with Air Methods, one of the Nations premier Air Medical Companies, the dream is now a reality.  “Since I opened 21 years ago it has been a goal of mine in the continuum of providing Excellence in Prehospital Emergency Medicine” said Tony Smelley, President of NorthStar EMS.  “It just seemed to be the next step in tying our system together and making sure we were able to take care of the citizens in the communities we serve.”

The helicopter, which should be in service by early fall, will allow NorthStar and its neighboring partners to move patients to DCH and other tertiary care facilities much quicker and with a higher level of care.  The service will staff a registered nurse and paramedic team specially trained and equipped to provide critical care transport between medical facilities as well as scene flights to rural areas as needed.  Mr. Smelley said “We will look to our first responders in these rural areas to notify us if they arrive to find a critical patient and feel the flight service will be of benefit.”

Air Methods has invested a great deal of time and money on safety.  “They received notice from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) of Level 4 achievement in their voluntary safety management system, the highest level possible” said Edgar Calloway, Paramedic and Operations Manager for NorthStar EMS.  “As important as it is to move patients quickly to and from necessary medical care, safety is of paramount importance. Their safety record was very important to us as we moved toward completion of this project.”

In early fall, when you see the helicopter moving around the sky in the Tuscaloosa area, recognize the step forward this will be for health care in the West Alabama region.