MARC Pulling Out of Sidney

A little more than a year ago, a new medical helicopter landed in Sidney, soon followed by an ambulance, staffed by black-uniformed Medical Air Rescue Company personnel.

The company recently announced the effort to serve the Sidney area did not work as planned and the company is moving. The decision was made at the end of May, according to ground operations manager Chris Wells.

"To function at a break even point, we need 14 revenue creating flights per month," Well said. "We were averaging six to seven."

He added the company expected to lose some in the first few years of operation, but the calls for service didn't generate enough revenue.

MARC introduced ground transport to the Sidney community in March of this year.

Sidney Regional Medical Center was notified about 60 days prior to MARC cancelling the contract. Wells said the agreement was written so that neither MARC nor the hospital would be penalized for cancelling the contract.

"We were certainly excited about the opportunity to have strong resources so close and the opportunity to improve transfer timelines. We are disappointed that this program was unable to thrive," said SRMC CEO Jason Petik.

Wells said the decision is not for lack of commitment to the community.

"It just wasn't sustainable. It was a business decision," he said.

He said the company CEO hoped to at least break even in the first year.

Wells said Sidney is the first MARC base with a helicopter. Previous bases relied on fixed-wing transport.

MARC had a staff of eight for ground service and a flight crew. The flight crew and support included four pilots, four mechanics and medical staff. Wells said the MARC staff were given the opportunity to transfer to other bases in the region. Most of the staff have chosen to stay with the company.

Wells said MARC was researching the Sidney community and in talks with local officials before the drop in Cabela's staffing.

MARC announced their arrival in Sidney in February 2018, and held a ribbon cutting event for the community in March 2018.