MassDevelopment

Boston MedFlight Buys Medical Helicopter With $8 Million MassDevelopment Lease


March 25, 2013


Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
Ellen Berlin, Boston MedFlight, 617-520-7115
eberlin@webershandwick.com

MassDevelopment has issued an $8 million tax-exempt lease on behalf of New England Life Flight, Inc. in Bedford, which does business as Boston MedFlight. The emergency transport service will use lease proceeds to buy a medically configured helicopter that will replace an existing helicopter to transport ill and injured patients. Lease proceeds will also finance related parts, equipment, and training. U.S. Bancorp Government Leasing and Finance purchased the lease.

“This innovative financing option will help Boston MedFlight keep its fleet prepared to transport those most in need throughout New England,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones.

Created in 1984, Boston MedFlight is a cooperative venture among Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Tufts Medical Center. The nonprofit has transported more than 50,000 critically ill and injured patients in the region. Boston MedFlight transports these emergency patients regardless of ability to pay and operates three of the four medical helicopters in Massachusetts.

“We are excited about this addition to our fleet,” said Suzanne Wedel, Boston MedFlight Medical Director and CEO. “This new helicopter will help us continue to provide exceptional care to the people of Massachusetts and the Islands.”

MassDevelopment’s tax-exempt leases act essentially as installment loans. An investor lends funds to the borrower to purchase equipment and complete any related renovations, and the borrower agrees to make periodic fixed-rate payments. Generally, the borrower leases the equipment for a length of time approximating the useful economic life of the equipment. At the end of the lease term, the borrower typically pays a nominal amount and assumes ownership of the equipment.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2012, MassDevelopment financed or managed 280 projects generating investment of more than $2.3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 12,000 jobs and build or rehabilitate 900 residential units.