CareFlight reports steady transport volumes and high compliance after winter operations

CareFlight representative Brent Stovall presented the provider’s quarter‑four compliance report to the Johnson County Commissioners Court, saying the service handled 3,405 requests and transported 2,104 patients in the quarter and maintained a 97% overall compliance rate.

Stovall said winter weather required modified operations, including twice‑daily leadership calls and a temporary “priority‑3 responses only” posture during the most severe periods. “We transported a total of 158 patients during [the winter event] … everything went off without a hitch,” he said, adding crews avoided vehicle crashes despite challenging conditions.

The report noted the county’s ground average response time rose from an average of about 12 minutes 25 seconds to roughly 14 minutes during the winter event; CareFlight’s air launches averaged 18.8 minutes from dispatch. Stovall described mutual‑aid activity and busiest units: “The Alvarado truck is the busiest truck in the system, followed by the Joshua truck and the truck at Chisholm Trail Parkway.”

Commissioners asked whether CareFlight could base an ambulance in a new ESD fire station to improve local coverage; Stovall said the agency is “absolutely looking at that” and likely would rotate an existing truck into the station rather than adding a new vehicle. Commissioners also questioned how transfers and indigent billing are handled; Stovall said most transfers originate from local hospitals (THR Burleson and THR Cleveland) and are covered by insurance or, if refused, charged back to the hospitals, adding the agency is generally “pretty covered” on payer‐of‑last‑resort arrangements.

The presentation concluded with praise from the court for first responders and volunteers. The judge and commissioners thanked CareFlight for the report and noted the provider’s role in recent emergency responses.