Bids welcomed for Lee County MEDSTAR
Commissioners in Lee County, Florida, US, are seeking bids from private companies to take over the running of the MEDSTAR helicopter air ambulance service. The Lee County Public Safety Department temporarily suspended operations of the publicly run service as of 21 August, saying the service needed to be reconfigured before a future relaunch.
Commissioners in Lee County, Florida, US, are seeking bids from private companies to take over the running of the MEDSTAR helicopter air ambulance service. The Lee County Public Safety Department temporarily suspended operations of the publicly run service as of 21 August, saying the service needed to be reconfigured before a future relaunch (www.airmedandrescue.com/story408).
The commission has said it will consider full privatisation of MEDSTAR, a partial takeover by a private operator, or a relaunch as a public service under the Public Safety Department, according to News Press. Aeromed and Med-Trans are reported to have already expressed an interest in operating MEDSTAR, with Aeromed proposing a full takeover including aircraft, flight crew and medical staff; Med-Trans has offered to provide its own helicopters and flight crews, but staffed with Lee County paramedics.