Air ambulance service's debut delayed

A second Las Vegas-based air ambulance company will remain grounded until its protocols are reviewed and 911 dispatchers figure out how to fit it into the present emergency medical system.

David Dolstein, chief executive officer of Mercy Air Services of Fontana, Calif., seemed surprised Friday when contacted about the delay. He thought his AirLife helicopter would be flying today.

"Until we have all things in place, we don't issue a permit to anyone," Jane Shunney, a senior public health nurse with the Clark County Health Department, said Friday. "Our role is to assure safety to people who visit our community."

Dolstein was noticeably upset that his company hadn't been issued a permit from the Health Department to fly.

"We have met everything in the (business) permit, and it's our objective to be in business Monday," a determined Dolstein said.

Bob Valdez, AirLife program manager, likewise was surprised to learn Friday that the company helicopter won't be flying today.

Shunney said she was hopeful everything to be worked out by the end of this week. She said it is important 911 dispatchers know who to call -- either AirLife or its competitor, Valley Hospital's Flight for Life.

Dolstein said AirLife will not be affiliated with any hospital in Las Vegas and will deliver patients to all medical facilities.

University Medical Center has agreed to supply nursing staff for AirLife.

The AirLife helicopter is sponsored by UMC, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and St. Rose Dominican Hospital.

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