Emergency Medical Flight Service Available to All McNairy County Residents
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MCNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. – Everyone who lives in McNairy County now has access to medical flight coverage thanks to a county-funded contract with Hospital Wing. “It makes me and my family feel safer to know that we’re covered by McNairy County,” resident Patricia Davis said. Mayor Ronnie Brooks said the county’s contract provides emergency airlift service as needed, even if your emergency is outside the county. Mayor Brooks would not disclose how much the service is actually costing taxpayers. “There’s 26,000 residents in McNairy County, and the hospital contract is for each person in McNairy County to be covered,” Mayor Brooks said. Although many believe they will not need to use the service, the deal with Hospital Wing could help save a life in the case of a medical emergency. “You have a great hospital here in the county, you have great emergency medical services, but there are times when the patient needs to go elsewhere for a higher level of care,” Hospital Wing flight nurse Andy Rice said. Rice added that emergency incidents can be very expensive. And with this service, the financial burden is taken away. “They have enough things to worry about without how am I going to pay for this,” Rice said. “It takes that pressure off of them, and they can tend to their family and take care of what needs to be taken care of and leave the rest to us.” There is no paperwork required to sign up for the service, which will run through the fiscal year.
