Erlanger Health System Establishing Permanent Facility At Cleveland Regional Jetport

Erlanger Health Systems has broken ground on a new, $600,000 hangar at Cleveland (TN) Regional Jetport with the intention of establishing a permanent base there.

Life Force 1 is currently based at a helipad on the roof of Erlanger's 3rd street hospital in Chattanooga, according to a report in the Times Free Press. In January, the health system hopes to have the helicopter more centrally located.

Erlanger Life Force administrator Robbie Tester told the paper that the permanent base in Cleveland will allow the aircraft to not only provide faster service to the main hospital in downtown Chattanooga, but also provide better service to surrounding counties.

The Erlanger helicopter service was taken over by Dallas. TX-based Med-Trans Corp. in 2008. The service operates five helicopters dispatched from five locations around the state. Tester said that stationing aircraft in different locations allows them to get to patients more quickly, expediting the start of critical care.

Erlanger president Kevin Spiegel said the new hangar in Cleveland will mean faster transport to the region's Level 1 trauma center.

The company flies a mix of EC-135 and Bell 407 helicopters.

(Image provided by Erlanger Health Systems)

FMI: www.erlanger.org/medical-services/coe-emergency-services/life-force-service