Board approves VCU Health Medevac base in Mecklenburg County

The Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 14 approved a resolution granting VCU Health authority to establish a Medevac base of operations in the county.

VCU Health and Community Memorial Hospital representatives told the board the base will reduce response times for critically ill patients by eliminating a leg of travel from other central bases. Dempsey Witt, program director for VCU Health’s medevac program, said the service averaged roughly 37 flights into Mecklenburg County in the previous year and that locating an aircraft locally will let crews reach patients more quickly.

Shalimar (surname not specified in the transcript), president of Community Memorial Hospital in the VCU system, said the hospital’s emergency department has seen rising volumes and increased critical transfers and expects improved patient outcomes with reduced transport times.

The board’s motion to adopt the resolution passed by voice vote; no roll call was recorded in the transcript. County staff said adopting the resolution is a required local authorization step before the operator can secure licensing from Virginia’s Office of EMS.

Why it matters

A local Medevac base is intended to shorten transfer times for critically ill patients and to reduce the time between a field call and arrival at definitive care. VCU Health said it will staff the base with its employees and that the service will act as a regional resource that takes patients to the closest appropriate facility.

What’s next

County staff will transmit the adopted resolution to VCU Health so the operator may continue the licensing process with the Office of EMS. The transcript records no specific operational start date.