Air Evac Lifeteam to close Crossville base
Area members of Air Evac Lifeteam received a surprise letter in their mailbox April 16, as the air medical transport company, which has had a base in Crossville since early 2005, announced that the Crossville base on South Main Street will close in late May
and the helicopter and crew will be transferred to another Air Evac location.
The Crossville base and crew currently are responsible for the following counties: Cumberland, White, Putnam, Overton, Morgan, Roane, Rhea and Bledsoe and share coverage of Fentress county with the Albany, Kentucky base.
The letter, dated April 13, mailed from the company’s home office in West Plains, Missouri, read as follows:
“Dear Member:
As a valued member and supporter of Air Evac Lifeteam, we want to make you aware that we will close the Crossville air ambulance base in May 2009 as part of an effort to better utilize resources to help other rural communities in need of air medical transport.
The region served by the Crossville crew since 2005 is also served by Air Evac Lifeteam bases in McMinn County, TN, Coffee County, TN and Albany, KY. After studying the area, we’ve determined that our company can best utilize its resources in other rural communities that are not fortunate enough to have access to emergency air medical services.
We understand that although the Crossville area is still being served by other Air Evac Lifeteam bases, there may be some concern among members who purchased memberships with the understanding that Air Evac had an aircraft and crew based in their community. We hope you will remain an Air Evac member knowing that your membership is valid in all of Air Evac’s service area in 14 states. As a member, you are covered for all medical transports flown by Air Evac for life- or limb-threatening medical emergencies if the flight originates from any of our 83 bases. In addition, for members who live in Cumberland, Putnam, White and Morgan counties only, we have made arrangements at our own expense to have their current Air Evac Lifeteam membership honored until its next renewal date by both the UT Lifestar and the Erlanger LifeForce air ambulance programs.
If you are not satisfied with the additional air ambulance coverage we have arranged for, we will be making refunds available to those members who live in Cumberland, Putnam, Morgan and White county only. If you would like to inquire about a refund, please call our membership department at 1-800-793-0010 or send us a letter indicating you would like a refund. Correspondence should be sent to Air Evac Lifeteam, P.O. Box 270, West Plains, MO 65775.
We thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
(Signature) Seth Myers
President,
Air Evac Lifeteam”