Sacred Heart denied helicopter EMS service
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Stewart

There will be no additional air ambulance service flying the skies above Santa Rosa County.

Currently Baptist Hospital's Life Flight is providing all air ambulance service to the county. Air Methods of Sacred Heart Hospital had requested a certificate from the county to allow their helicopter to fly from Santa Rosa Medical Center and service the North part of the county. But last week county commissioners turned down the request.

County Commission Chair Tom Stewart explained, "We had asked Air Methods to pay for a study to see if another air ambulance service was needed within the county. Air Methods sent us a letter this week saying they would not be willing to pay for any study. I am not in favor of spending taxpayer money for the study, so as far as I am concerned that ends the issue." The other commissioners agreed.

Stewart said to allow another air ambulance service to operate within the county, the current certificate granted to Baptist Hospital would need to be re-done, and without a study he saw no justification to do that.

"When they came before us and asked for the certificate to be re done so they could handle the North part of the county, we asked them how many calls they would need to make their helicopter service here profitable, and they gave us a number which was higher than the half of the calls they would get with what calls the current provider has been getting. So I do not know why they would want to come in here anyway."

Stewart said he had read an article over the weekend saying Air Methods planned to place a helicopter at Santa Rosa Medical Center even if the county turned them down, to operate as a private emergency transportation service. Commissioners asked County Attorney Thomas Dannheiser if Air Methods could do that legally without a certificate to operate from the county. Dannheiser said the only way was if Air Methods used that air ambulance helicopter for people to hire and fly to hospitals over state lines, for example. But they could not operate for regular calls within the county because the state would not give them approval to do so without Santa Rosa County's certificate.