Sussex County will soon have another helicopter service to respond to emergencies and transport patients between regional hospitals. County Council unanimously approved a lease agreement between LifeNet and the Sussex County Airport for office space to begin operations in the county.
LifeNet will have an office at the airport, and the one helicopter that will serve the county will temporarily sit outside. Officials expect the helicopter to begin responding in Sussex County on Oct. 23.
“We’ve been trying to find a good home (for Life Net in Sussex County),” said Stephen Masten, the director of Sussex County Economic Development, on Tuesday.
LifeNet, a subsidiary of Air Methods Corporation, currently operates 75 aircraft – 72 of them helicopters — at 62 bases in 15 states, including Delaware. The company has stationed a helicopter at Christiana Care in Newark for more than five years, providing 24-hour emergency service across the state since 2001.
Christiana Care LifeNet Program Director Howard Gant said Tuesday that the service made 426 flights last year, at about $4,000 apiece, and 60 percent of them went to Sussex County.
Gant and Masten said that they expect LifeNet’s Sussex helicopter to make 400 trips annually, backing up the Delaware State Police and transporting patients. The chopper will be able to transport patients – its main duty — to any location in Sussex and to Atlantic General in Berlin, Md., and Peninsula Regional in Salisbury, Md., in 15 minutes or less.
“It’s a 24-hour service,” Masten said. “We’re talking about being able to evacuate someone very quickly.”
“Delaware State Police is very busy,” Gant noted. The helicopter at Christiana Care also backs up the state police upstate. “Now you’re going to have another aircraft in the county.”
The Delaware State Police Aviation section, which operates one helicopter at all times in New Castle and Sussex Counties, made about 3,500 trips last year but does not transport patients between facilities.
LifeNet assists the state police’s aviation unit from its Christiana Care base in Newark, as well, but Gant did not have any specific numbers on back-up calls.
“Any missions that they back us up on could be a life saved,” said Jeff Evans, Delaware State Police’s aviation commander, of LifeNet, adding that the state police aviation unit is not over-stressed but welcomes help. “We have a very good relationship. We view it as a partnership. We look forward to that in Sussex County.”
LifeNet’s introduction to the county will also have a social and economic impact locally, Masten told County Council on Tuesday.
Officials expect the chopper to use 30,000 gallons of Jet-A fuel annually, generating $120,000 in fuel sales. LifeNet also plans to create 15 jobs, which officials said will be filled locally, and provide outreach and education programs along with the Delaware Office of Emergency Medical Services.
Officials said Tuesday that they plan to eventually lease hangar space for the helicopter but, until then, they hope to store it with larger aircraft in cases of severe weather. Plans to temporarily store the helicopter under such conditions are not yet solidified, according to Masten and Gant.
“It’s something we have to explore more,” Gant said.
County launches audio archive online
In addition to watching and listening to live broadcasts of Sussex County meetings, anyone can now listen to broadcasts from previous County Council, Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment Meetings.
Anyone with a computer and internet access can now visit www.sussexcountyde.gov, and click on the “e-gov” heading and “Audio Archive” link to listen to any meeting dating back to April of 2006.
According to a Tuesday county release, County Administrator Bob Stickels announced the then-pending archive, which utilizes a recording system using digital media cards similar to those found in digital cameras, in April. Stickels, who is retiring at the end of October after 18 years as county administrator, said that offering such a service allow for more public access to government.
“I’m pleased, in my closing days as county administrator, that we’re able to finish this project which will enhance the public’s access to its county government,” Stickels said in the release. “People will now have complete access to meetings, 24 hours a day, seven days a week from anywhere.