A large crowd was on hand Thursday for the official ribbon-cutting and open house for Air Methods Kentucky’s new base at the Russell County Airport.
The event marked the official opening of the Air Methods 15 base, which has already been serving Russell County and the surrounding area for about a month.
Several special guests addressed the crowd prior to Thursday’s ribbon-cutting.
Russell County Judge Executive Randy Marcum called the opening of the Air Methods base a “proud and historic moment” for Russell County.
Russell County EMS Director Charles Shepherd also spoke, saying having an emergency medical aircraft based this close to the community will greatly improve patient care and overall safety for local residents.
Shepherd was credited by Marcum and Air Methods officials as the driving force behind bringing an Air Methods base to the Russell County Airport.
And the new base is already making an impact.
Air Methods 15 has made nearly 50 emergency flights for critically ill or injured patients in Russell and surrounding counties since beginning local operations about a month ago.
