The South Lyon Medical Center in Yerington officially has a full-time medical evacuation helicopter.
According to its pilots, the location is about a 24-to-28-minute flight away from major trauma centers in Reno or Carson City depending on the wind.
This is a project that has been in the works for more than two and a half years.
For rural communities in Northern Nevada, a common issue that many first responders face is access to resources.Â
A lack of resources can make it more difficult to treat patients efficiently, but having this helicopter ready to go benefits many people.
"What's incredible about it is that it frees up resources. That's the thing I want folks to know is that this increases access to care by freeing up so many other resources in Douglas, Carson, Washoe, the surrounding counties," said Blayne Osborn, President of Nevada Rural Hospital Partners.
With the helicopter being stationed on site full time, patients can be taken to higher level trauma centers in Reno or Carson City.
Pilots say it will take about eight minutes to get a patient from a hospital bed into the air and on the way to wherever they need to go.
One first responder we spoke with says that having this resource will be invaluable for the community.
"A lot of inter facility transfers are needed for patients from South Lyon to hospitals in the Reno area so we are not always able to fulfill those, sometimes relying on outside ambulance services, sometimes care flight and other air medical helicopters," said Scott Draper, District Fire Chief for Mason Valley Fire Protection District.
As a bonus, The South Lyon Hosptial District voted to approve the expenditure of $15,000 to provide insurance membership to the transport service for all eligible residents of the hospital district.
