It’s Official: LifeFlight Out, StatFlight In

— LifeFlight operated via the company Air Methods. StatFlight is a PHI Air Medical controlled flight program.

EVANSVILLE, IN  – St. Vincent Hospital is replacing their medical helicopter program, LifeFlight, with a new one called StatFlight.

The change means more than a new name.

StatFlight helicopters will have a new look and upgraded technology.

StatFlight operates under the PHI Air Medical helicopter umbrella of air medical services. Lifeflight was an Air Methods operated flight program.

It is expected that many personnel from the existing LifeFlight team will transition to the new staff.

StatFlight is the largest air medical provider in Indiana. St. Vincent operates 20 hospitals in the state.

Ascension’s St. Vincent announced in August of 2017, that effective Nov. 1, StatFlight, operated by PHI Air Medical, will become the largest air medical provider in Indiana with the addition of the program’s sixth base in Evansville.

The new St. Vincent StatFlight base will replace the existing St. Vincent LifeFlight program that has been in service for more than 35 years.

St. Vincent is part of Ascension, the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system.

St. Vincent says the StatFlight-branded Airbus EC 135 helicopter will be equipped with state-of-the-art, industry-leading technology and equipment such as night vision goggles, the Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System and autopilot. The helicopter will be capable of flying with Instrument Flight Rules technology in the coming months and its new base will carry life-saving blood products. The service will also be capable of transporting specialty patients that require an intra-aortic balloon pump or ventricular assist device.

“We are proud of our continued partnership with St. Vincent to help provide the citizens of Indiana with this critical, life-saving air medical service,” said Sean O’Neal, regional director for PHI Air Medical. “With this expansion in services, we look forward to serving the communities in central Indiana and now the Tri-State area in southern Indiana.”

St. Vincent partnered with PHI Air Medical in 2010 to form the St. Vincent StatFlight program, which is accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems. Other locations for StatFlight include Anderson, Greencastle, West Lafayette, Rushville and Seymour.

Because of the outstanding clinical quality from the Evansville LifeFlight team, a St. Vincent media release said, many of these employees will transition to become St. Vincent StatFlight staff. It is expected that approximately 90 people, comprised of pilots, mechanics, nurses, paramedics and communication specialists across state will now be a part of St. Vincent StatFlight.

“We are grateful for the outstanding work that the LifeFlight program has provided to this community for the last 35 years,” said Dan Parod, president of St. Vincent, Southwest Region. “As we begin to take the next step in enhancing our air medical service we want the communities we serve to be assured that they will continue to have access to this vital service.”

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