Eagle Air Med to open base in Blanding this week—hosting an open house October 12

Eagle Air Med will be holding an open house to celebrate the opening of their new base in Blanding. The open house is free and open to the public and will take place at the Blanding airport located at 212 West Freedom way on Oct. 12 from 12-1:30 p.m.
Visitors will be able to tour the aircraft, meet the crew, learn about the AirMedCare membership network, enjoy a provided lunch and participate in the many planned activities.
The Blanding Eagle Air Med base will be the seventh Eagle Air Med base in five states. Eagle Air Med has been operating in San Juan County for over 35 years, but the addition of the Blanding base significantly increases air medical availability to San Juan County residents.
“We’re going to have students from Bluff Elementary show up about ten o’clock and do some activities,” Mike Brown, Director of Business Development at the Blanding Airport said. “They’ll be able to talk to the medical crews, talk to the mechanics, go through the aircraft.
“Then at noon for the general public, we are going to have a luncheon and do a little ribbon cutting and other festivities.”
Eagle Air Med has over 35 years of air ambulance experience and have transported over 36,000 patients in their history. Eagle Air Med is a participating provider to the AirMedCare Network, the nation’s largest air ambulance network.
Memberships are available to the public for $85 a year for an entire household and cover the cost for an emergency flight by Eagle Air Med, or any of the Network’s more than 320 locations across 38 states.
“Eagle Air Med and Guardian Flights, the company that owns Eagle Air Med now, has been in the area for over 35 years,” Brown said. “But it’s been a long time since we actually had a crew that flew out of Blanding and what that will mean specifically for the community is quicker access to air ambulance providers.
“Instead of waiting 45 minutes to an hour for an air ambulance crew to get to the local facility, whether that’s Blanding or Monticello, they’ll be waiting 20-30 minutes to have a crew on site and have a transfer patient going.”
Brown noted that people that live in rural areas never think much about air ambulance service, but to have the addition of a service that can get patients to a higher level of medical care almost immediately is a cherished new asset to add to the community.
“We will have some membership representatives there,” Brown said. “What that will mean for the people of the county is we do offer a membership program that allows for a household to sign up for a year for $85 and be covered for all air ambulance services for that year.
“What that means for the county is to be able to have this type of quality top notch service and be able to do is something that is going to be very affordable to all families in the county.”