Pasco County commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 20 to launch a 24/7 air ambulance program with Med-Trans Corp., a partnership officials say will shorten emergency response times and that the company will largely pay for.
Under the five-year agreement, the program will operate under Pasco County Fire Rescue. Med-Trans will cover operating costs and reimburse the county $712,000 a year, paid quarterly, plus up to $12,000 annually for medical direction. The deal is worth about $3.56 million over its initial term and will renew automatically for up to three more one-year terms unless either side gives written notice.
Med-Trans will provide the helicopter, pilots, nursing staff, aircraft maintenance, billing services, and the required licenses and regulatory approvals. Fire Rescue will supply paramedics, medical equipment and supplies, and medical direction, according to county documents. The helicopter will be based at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, which is operated and maintained by the city of Zephyrhills.
At the meeting, Fire Rescue officials said air ambulances now take an average of 20 minutes, 53 seconds to respond to medical emergencies in the county, based on calls from September 2025 to September 2026. That figure reflects several providers currently serving Pasco, including Aeromed, Bayflite and Med-Trans, each with its own average.
A dedicated county program, officials said, would shorten that response time, get patients to the most appropriate hospital, tie the flight crew more closely to Fire Rescue’s medical direction and expand the crew’s clinical capabilities. The agreement also includes 10 hours of community-education flight time, such as Prom Promise events, in which the helicopter lands on a high school football field as students watch a staged presentation about staying safe on homecoming and prom nights.
Commissioners embraced the deal. Commissioner Ron Oakley said he was glad to see the county form the kind of partnership with a medical services company that other communities already have. Commissioner Seth Weightman said he hoped the helicopter could also help neighboring counties when needed. Commissioner Jack Mariano praised the program for not affecting the budget at a time when the county is looking to cut costs.
For Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, the vote was personal.
Starkey told the board her husband had a stroke Oct. 16, four days before the meeting. It took about 10 minutes for an ambulance to reach him, she said. That was within Pasco’s typical range of 7 to 11 minutes, but she said the wait was still deeply stressful, and she was grateful the partnership would help speed response times.
“I just want to thank whoever it was that got to him,” an emotional Starkey said. “I never got to thank them, and I appreciate their professionalism. They saved his life.”