WESTFIELD, Mass. — Hartford Healthcare, Baystate Health, and Air Methods announced Wednesday morning, that they have partnered together to expand the life-saving LIFE STAR’s services to the western Massachusetts.
The new LIFE STAR helicopter is based at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Westfield-Barnes is a Commercial Service Airport delivering 24×7 operations and a full suite of business, civilian and military and aviation services to Western Massachusetts
Currently, there are no other air ambulance services based in western Massachusetts. “Air Methods and LIFE STAR’s operational and clinical expertise, combined with Baystate serving as the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, made this partnership a win-win,” said Jeffrey Flaks, president and chief operating officer for Hartford HealthCare. “It will allow the western Massachusetts region to benefit from a needed service under an efficient delivery model.”
Each organization plays a critical role in the three-way partnership:
- LIFE STAR will provide medical and quality oversight, the medical flight crew, and communications support through its existing infrastructure at Hartford Hospital.
- Air Methods will assist with aircraft management, flight operations, and facilities including a hangar space.
- Baystate Medical Center’s board certified trauma surgeons and specially trained medical professionals will provide the highest level of care available in western Massachusetts for these critically injured or ill patients
“The LIFE STAR program has been an integral component of our services for more than 30 years. With nearly 32,000 flights and more than 20,000 patients served, we take pride in knowing countless lives have been saved thanks to LIFE STAR’s talented crew and extraordinary capabilities,” said Flaks. “Today, LIFE STAR reaches a new milestone.”
Dr. Gerald Beltran, chief of Pre-hospital and Disaster Medicine at Baystate Medical Center, noted it is a fact that air transport saves lives. “Time is everything when a critically ill or injured patient needs the highest level of emergency care immediately, such as that available at our Level I trauma center, the only one in western Massachusetts. Having a LIFE STAR helicopter based close by in Westfield puts their highly trained and talented crew closer to those patients in need of their life-saving services when transportation time is an issue in reaching us,” said Beltran.
“We are honored to expand our partnership with Hartford HealthCare and join with Baystate Health in growing timely access to airborne critical care services,” said Mike Allen, president and chief operating officer, Air Methods.
Dr. Beltran added: “We are grateful to partner with LIFE STAR services to provide this very important benefit to the community, which will make a difference in the lives of many for years to come.”
This is LIFE STAR’s third location, in addition to bases at MidState Medical Center in Meriden, Conn., and Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn.
