Starkville Could Also Become Home To Medical Helicopter

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The University of Mississippi Medical Center plans to add two medical helicopters, doubling its current fleet, but some other medical helicopter operators are protesting the plan.

The medical center plans to place one helicopter in southwestern Mississippi, possible in McComb, and one to the north of Jackson, possibly in Starkville. The helicopters are a visual sign of UMMC’s efforts to attract patients to Jackson, rather than see them go to large hospital systems based in New Orleans and Memphis.

The College Board approved the two additional helicopters at its December meetings over the protests of the Hattiesburg-based Southeast Mississippi Air Ambulance District. The district and others say the medical center is improperly competing with other entities already providing the same service. The $55 million contract with PHI runs until 2020.