Expanded medical flight service may hang on airport facility

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September 22, 2012

Expanded medical flight service may hang on airport facility

By James Beaty Senior Editor The McAlester News-Capital Sat Sep 22, 2012, 07:59 PM CDT

McALESTER — Leasing a hangar at the McAlester Regional Airport to a medical flight company set to provide service to the McAlester Regional Health Center is among the items on the agenda for the McAlester City Council on Tuesday night.

Leasing a hangar opens the possibility of EagleMed LLC, basing a “fixed wing aircraft” — a medical airplane — in the city, in addition to a medical helicopter service.

City councilors plan to meet in regular session at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Prior to the regular meeting, a special city council workshop is set for 5 p.m., which will also be held in the Council Chambers.

Only one item is on the 5 p.m. meeting agenda, discussion and possible action to accept staff recommendations for prioritization of the city’s Street Reconstruction Project.

Regarding the airport hangar issue, an agenda item during the regular meeting calls discussion and possible action authorizing the mayor to sign a lease agreement for the hangar.

The agreement would be between McAlester Regional Airport and the city of McAlester, and EagleMed, LLC, for Corporate Hangar No. 30 at the airport.

Tentative terms calls for a five-year agreement, extending from Oct. 1, 2012, to Oct. 1, 2017, with EagleMed paying the city $1,700 a month for use of the hangar.

In August, the McAlester Regional Health Center Authority board voted to authorize hospital Chief Executive Officer David Keith to negotiate and finalize an agreement with EagleMed to provide the hospital with a medical flight service, which has been provided by the AirEvac Lifeteam.

Plans called for EagleMed to keep a medical crew and helicopter stationed at the McAlester hospital

During the August meeting with the hospital board, EagleMed President Larry Bugg, of Wichita, Kan., offered the possibility that a “fixed-wing aircraft” may also be based in McAlester. He told the hospital board it depended on several factors, including hangar availability.

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