They were able to get it thanks to a $5.3 million grant from the William N. Pennington Foundation.

Care Flight is a critical component of access to health care across rural Nevada and Eastern California. They have been caring for patients for more than 40 years, transporting around 1,500 patients every year.

Now, a new unit is joining the fleet.

This new Care Flight unit is a big deal. REMSA is a non-profit and the new Care Flight 1 unit was funded with $5.3 million in grant money from the William N. Pennington Foundation. This is the largest grant ever made to REMSA so far. 

The Care Flight 1 unit is an Airbus H-125 B3E helicopter, and finally in commission filled with highly trained medical critical care nurses and paramedics. The new aircraft is deemed critical for rural communities, because air-ambulances are key to providing resources. 

"We've got very talented clinicians and in order to reach some of the population it's critically important that we have advanced equipment such as this," said Barry Duplantis, the President and CEO of REMSA Health.

He explained that rural communities are at a disadvantage because of the lack of providers in their areas. Therefore, having another Care Flight unit means the difference between life and death.

"As our population ages we're ever more dependent upon air medical to bring citizens in our rural communities in for advanced levels of care," Duplantis said.

This particular aircraft is unique, the safety features include the latest autopilot technology. However, the interior is pretty small. 

"We've got one pilot, the clinical crew and the patient, so when it comes to the need to protect our employees and our patients we did not want to compromise with the latest greatest technology that's available," Duplantis mentioned.

The aircraft will be based out of Fallon, right in the heart of our rural communities because the need for air-ambulances and replacement aircrafts is crucial for providing the best care in these areas.

Duplantis told us the REMSA Health clinicians helped with how the aircraft looks and functions on the inside to provide the best level of care. 

"Let's face it this is the office of our clinicians, so just like we all have offices our employees want a good office to operate in," he said. "They want good reliable equipment; they want safe equipment; and its on us to provide them with that environment so they can do their very best work."

You can also donate to REMSA Health by clicking the link here.Â