Air Care & Mobile Care Breaks Ground in Mt. Orab

At a Feb. 25 ceremony in the Brown County community of Mt. Orab, UC Health Air Care & Mobile Care officially broke ground on the site of their future East Base.

The new base will house Air Care 3, the organization’s helicopter dedicated to Cincinnati’s Eastern region. The aircraft has been stationed at the Union Township Civic Center since it launched in April 2013. With the completion of the East Base, Air Care 3 will expand from 12 hour a day staffing to 24/7 staffing.

Officials from UC Health, including Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services Jen Jackson, AC&MC Clinical Director Teri Grau, Mt. Orab Mayor Bruce Lunsford, and Mike Schumacher and Larry Schumacher of Schumacher-Dugan Construction spoke at the event.

With family roots in Brown County, Jackson said she felt the ground-breaking was more like a "homecoming.”

"I feel honored to bring my work family to meet my home family—and to bring the organization I help to lead back to Mt. Orab to serve a broader scope of patients in the region. We have an outstanding partnership with this community and this is an exciting project.”

Currently, the EC 145 helicopter Air Care 1 is stationed at UC Medical Center, and Air Care 2 is stationed at Butler County airport.

The completed East Base will be almost 7,000 square feet in total, including a hangar to house Air Care 3 and an ambulance as well as a helipad and office space. The site will also include the ability to house fuel tanks nearby. Construction is expected to start soon depending on weather conditions, with the entire build anticipated to take between four and five months.

ACMC Community Outreach and Business Manager Kate Morgan estimates the new base will create twenty jobs, including advanced practice flight nurses, flight nurses, pilots, mechanics and communication specialists.