Two AirLife helicopters are following the crowds and the traffic to Douglas County.
The air-ambulance company moved two helicopters from Englewood’s Swedish Medical Center to a new home base at Sky Ridge Medical Center.
The southern migration will provide quicker access to patients in fast-growing Elbert and Douglas counties, said Jana Williams, AirLife program director.
The move also reflects a national trend away from concentrating air ambulances in central cities, Williams said. “We’re trying to strategically place the helicopters where the patients are.”
AirLife’s ground and air ambulances answer about 2,300 calls a year. A growing number of those calls are in the Front Range’s southeast area.
By locating at Sky Ridge, off Interstate 25 in Lone Tree, AirLife hopes to shave seven minutes off its response times there, Williams said.
AirLife’s headquarters will remain at Swedish.
