New Arizona base for Native Air
Air Methods subsidiary Native Air has opened a new base in Show Low, Navajo County, with the aim of providing better coverage to residents of northeastern Arizona
The base, known as Native Air 18, will be home to a Bell 407, and primarily used to provide on-scene medical support and responses to trauma-related calls. The base will begin training with local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on 21 November.
Native Air 18 will also support the existing Native Air 9 base, situated at Show Low’s Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center, which specializes in providing interfacility transport to patients.
The crew stationed at Native Air 18 has been trained for high-altitude flight, due to the region’s mountainous terrain, and also been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS).
The opening of the new base comes two months after Air Methods closed several others – including its Hawaiian service LifeSave KuPono, and its LifeNet St Joseph base in Missouri.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.