Douglas resident tells Cochise County board lack of air ambulance delayed care
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Summary
During public comment at the Cochise County Library District meeting on Thursday, Nov. 4, a Douglas resident described a six-hour delay in air transport for her father and urged the county to address gaps in local hospital and emergency-transport access.
Kathleen, a Douglas resident, told the Cochise County Library District during public comment on Thursday, Nov. 4 that her father died after a delay in emergency transport and that there was no local air-ambulance or helicopter service available.
She said county staff and board members offered condolences. "There was no air ambulance service and no helicopter service," Kathleen said, adding that her father waited "for 6 hours until Sierra Vista went down and picked him up." She also said "there's people still waiting to get into ICU because they can't get transportation to Sierra Vista."
The matter came during the public-comment portion of the district meeting; no formal action or motion was taken on the topic at that time. A board member opened the comment period by offering condolences and praising Kathleen's attendance. The board did not place a hospital- or transport-specific item on the consent agenda during this meeting, and no staff report or motion about air-ambulance service appeared on the record.
The public comment raised two discrete points the board and staff can address: whether county-level action is possible to improve emergency transport access and whether coordination is needed with regional hospitals such as those in Sierra Vista. Kathleen said the experience made the need "more real than ever" for her and that she was dedicated to pursuing the issue.
No timeline for follow-up or assignment of staff responsibilities was recorded in the meeting transcript. The remarks occurred during public comment and did not produce a formal direction, vote, or referral in this meeting.
