Over 60,000 patients, 8 aircrafts, and 35 years…Sanford AirMed has quite the history, but now they’re putting down more roots in Bemidji. AirMed has operated out of Bemidji for two and half years, but they’ve found a new home at the Bemidji airport. At a ribbon cutting ceremony today, Sanford AirMed showed their new hangar to the public, which will house one helicopter for critical care. The lifeflight helicopter is state of the art and provides service to a largely rural area. Bemidji Base Supervisor Mike Schultz said, “What we do is pretty special. I think people are used to seeing the helicopter flying over and its a common thing to see, but we have an awesome crew that provide critical care to anyone who needs it.”

Sanford AirMed has been operating out of Bemidji since 2012, and in that time they’ve served over 500 patients and logged over 1,000 flight hours. Sanford officials hope the new hangar will continue to expand their services. “The space is more efficient. It’s more economical…Overall, it improves our operation and efficiency,” said Schultz.

Sanford AirMed will be operating from their new hangar 24/7, 365 days a year. Sanford AirMed also has locations in Bismarck, Fargo, and Sioux Falls. Their next expansion will be in Dickinson, North Dakota.

By — Lakeland PBS

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