By Charles Wilborn
Danville Register & Bee
DANVILLE, Va. — After the Danville City Council approved a permit in August, a new air ambulance service is expected to start operations soon at Danville Regional Airport.
HCA Virginia Health System announced the project Wednesday. The health system has more than a dozen hospitals around the state, including LewisGale Medical Center in Salem.
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It also has seven freestanding emergency rooms.
Known as the Air Care Eagle helicopter, it will be the second one for the health system.
When the permit was approved by the Danville City Council on Aug. 6, leaders from HCA explained a team will be based at Danville Regional Airport with the aircraft there.
It will be operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week and include a flight nurse, flight paramedic and pilot team.
Currently, for example, if a patient is involved in an automobile crash and needs to be transported to a major hospital, it takes time for another facility to get a helicopter on the way to Danville.
Jay Lovelady and Brian Solady, both from HCA, and Victor Grant from Air Methods, explained to council there will be four pilots, a staff of two mechanics and a communications center located at Danville Regional Airport.
Air Methods is a national air ambulance service.
“We are proud to partner with HCA Virginia to expand access to critical care services in Southwest Virginia,” Travis Mason, Air Methods Northeast regional director, wrote in a statement Wednesday.
Technically, Danville is considered in Southern Virginia, or what many people simply call Southside.
“This new base strengthens our ability to provide rapid, high-quality air medical transport and connect patients with the specialized care they need,” Mason explained.
HCA noted the service will start in the fall, but did not provide extended details on a time frame.
For now, it will operate in a temporary space in a secured part of the airport, Teresa Hamilton Hall, a spokesperson for LewisGale Regional Health System, told the Register & Bee via email.
“This spring, the team is expected to move into a permanent modular structure and newly constructed hangar,” she said.
Before the vote for the new service, the two permitted ambulance providers were the Danville Life Saving Crew and Fab’s Family Medical Transportation, both only providing ground transports.
“The lack of transportation is a top issue that our local hospital faces each day,” Danville Fire Department Chief David Coffee wrote in a letter to Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones referencing the permit.
He said he talked with Sovah Health President Steve Heatherly, who said the lack of medical transport to move patients who need a higher level of care in a timely manner creates a backup.
“This backup ultimately places the hospital in position where they have to divert patients to other medical facilities,” Coffee wrote.
Last year, Air Methods — operating for other health systems — responded to 347 calls for service in the Danville area.
“The question has become, do we wait for the helicopter to get here, or do we have a helicopter based here ready to go?” Coffee questioned.
The announcement came alongside the debut of a new freestanding emergency room in the Hollins area. That’s expected to open in 2028.
“The second Air Care Eagle base will bring a lifesaving transport resource closer to patients across Southwest Virginia. When someone experiences a serious injury or medical emergency, faster access to the right level of care can make a meaningful difference,” Collin McLaughlin, CEO of LewisGale Medical Center, said in the statement.
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