Guardian Flight, an Air Medical Group Holdings company, has purchased Sunrise Air Ambulance and its four air medical transport bases in Arizona. Sunrise holds both a fixed-wing and a rotor-wing operation at its headquarters in Show Low, Arizona, as well as fixed-wing operations in Springerville and Safford.
The Sunrise acquisition brings Guardian Flight’s total dedicated Arizona air medical aircraft to nine including bases in Chinle, Kayenta, Window Rock and Yuma.
“Now that Sunrise is a part of Guardian Flight’s air medical operations, our presence in the state will grow even stronger as we are now able to take advantage of its market strength in the region,” said Sunrise CEO and program director, Dr. Mike Hayes, who continues to lead the Sunrise bases.
Guardian Flight operates a fleet of approximately 85 fixed- and rotor-wing aircraft dedicated to air medical flights in the Upper Midwest, Mountain West, Southwest, Alaska, and Hawaii. Guardian Flight has approximately 750 staff, including clinical providers, pilots, mechanics, trained communicators, and support staff.
“Adding Sunrise’s eastern Arizona bases strengthens our footprint within the state as we begin working more closely with Mount Graham Medical Center, Summit Healthcare, and White Mountain Regional Medical Center,” said Guardian Flight senior VP of operations, Randy Lyman.
Guardian Flight companies include Eagle Air Med, serving parts of Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Colorado, and Utah; Hawaii Life Flight in Hawaii; and Guardian Flight in Alaska and Wyoming. Companies also include Gallup Med Flight and MedStar in New Mexico; Valley Med Flight in North Dakota, Michigan, Montana, and Minnesota; Alaska Regional LifeFlight in Alaska; MountainStar AirCare operating in Utah; North Central AirCare in northern Ohio and AeroCare Medical Transport serving in Arizona and New Mexico.
Guardian Flight’s parent company, AMGH, describes itself as the United States’ largest provider of emergent air medical services with more than 100,000 patient transports annually. Across the country, the company has more than 330 air base locations in 38 states with a fleet of more than 400 aircraft.
