Boston MedFlight Buys Three Medical Helicopters With MassDevelopment Lease
May 9, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
Tom Hudner, Boston MedFlight, 781-457-2316
Tom.hudner@bostonmedflight.org
MassDevelopment provided a $29,340,000 tax-exempt lease for New England Life Flight Inc., which does business as Boston MedFlight, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides critical care medical transport by air and ground and partners with a consortium of leading hospitals, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Tufts Medical Center. The organization will use proceeds from the lease to buy three medically-configured helicopters to transport critically ill and injured patients in the region. Lease proceeds will also finance related tools, parts, equipment, and training.
MassDevelopment previously provided two tax-exempt leases for Boston MedFlight, one for $8 million in March 2013 and one for $8.5 million in December 2013, to purchase two medically-configured helicopters and related tools, parts, equipment, and training.
“Boston MedFlight’s services save lives by providing New England residents with critical emergency transportation to the region’s top-notch medical facilities,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “MassDevelopment is proud to continue our support of this organization in its efforts to strategically and periodically upgrade its fleet with the most advanced transportation equipment and training.”
Boston MedFlight provides critical care medical transport to the region’s most severely ill and injured patients with its fleet of helicopters, airplane and ground vehicles, all of which are outfitted with state-of-the art medical equipment and serve as mobile intensive care units. With highly trained critical care nurses and critical care paramedics, Boston MedFlight transports adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients with a very diverse range of diagnoses, including medical, trauma, neurological, respiratory, cardiac, and obstetrical concerns. Each year, Boston MedFlight completes more than 4,100 patient transports and provides more than $4.2 million in free and unreimbursed care to patients in need.
“Our ability to secure financing through MassDevelopment at competitive tax-exempt rates allows us to be efficient with our debt and to invest our savings directly back into our nonprofit, life-saving mission,” said Boston MedFlight’s CEO Maura Hughes.
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2017, MassDevelopment financed or managed 377 projects generating investment of more than $4.3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 9,488 jobs and build or rehabilitate 1,863 residential units.
