It’s hard for Paso Robles dirt biker Primo Vargas to forget the memory of his fellow off-road rider being flung from his bike a decade ago during hill climbs in Pozo—breaking his back and neck in the process.
But the life-saving impact of a medevac helicopter also left an indelible impression on him.
“We were able to call the police after we got [cell] service. It was really fast,” Vargas said. “He had brain swelling and brain bleeding. He would have died if we didn’t have a service like this in our area that they’re trying to get rid of.”
San Luis Obispo County has benefited from three kinds of aircraft support services for medical emergencies. From 2012, CALSTAR’s REACH Air Medical Services in Santa Maria helped the county.
Then from 2022, the California Highway Patrol helicopter began supporting law enforcement operations and patient rescue and transportation needs as an Advanced Life Support Rescue vehicle.
From 2020, the Mercy Air 34 helicopter operated out of its Paso Robles base as the only air ambulance in the county, helping critically ill and injured people after receiving 911 calls and requests for hospital transfers.
In early September, Mercy Air’s parent company Air Methods announced that it would close the Paso Robles base on Nov. 4.
For Paso Robles’ Vargas, a helicopter service like Mercy Air 34 is the difference between saving someone and spending a lifetime thinking, “What if?”
While he’s sought the service of other helicopter medevac operators over the last 10 years and more, Vargas told New Times he’s upset by Mercy Air 34’s proposed closure.
“San Luis Obispo County is, for one, a pretty well-to-do county,” he said. “But in the recent years, a lot of the medical aspects of this county have been going through the gutters. … If you’re faced with a disaster, you don’t want to have to think that you’re going to wait an additional hour or two for the closest medevac to get to you.”
Air Methods spokesperson Denise Coffman told New Times the Paso Robles base isn’t sustainable any longer because of the lack of reimbursement increases to the state’s Medi-Cal and federal Medicare programs.
“Medicare has not increased rates in more than 20 years and currently reimburses only about 60 percent of our costs,” Coffman said. “Medi-Cal currently pays a flat rate of $1,800 per transport plus mileage, which covers less than 35 percent of the actual cost of a patient transport.”
Long-term volume trends also contributed to the shuttering. Coffman said that Medi-Cal patients make up 40 percent of Mercy Air 34 transports, while Medicare patients comprise 30 percent.
“That means 70 percent of our transports are reimbursed at less than half of what it costs to provide the service,” she said. “At the same time, operational costs—such as fuel, labor, aircraft, and parts—continue to rise, compounding the financial challenges.”
Mercy Air has served California and Nevada from different bases for 35 years. The Paso Robles base is the only one closing. Coffman added that financial strain caused by insufficient Medi-Cal and Medicare reimbursement levels puts all air medical bases at risk.
County officials confirmed that there is no equivalent service to the ones provided by Mercy Air 34. Over its five-year tenure, the helicopter enhanced patient care with a new automated CPR device and blood transfusion capabilities. The latter service, which isn’t provided by Santa Maria’s CALSTAR 7, makes Mercy Air 34 the only out-of-hospital unit capable of blood transfusion.
SLO County Health Agency spokesperson Olivia Montiano told New Times that the county plans to work with California Highway Patrol and other agencies to address future rescue and air paramedic needs.
“We are saddened by the forthcoming departure of Mercy Air 34,” she said. “This change presents challenges for those in our rural community as well as those who need specialty care out of the area, such as burn patients or pediatrics care.”
Mercy Air 34’s impending closure concerns Cal Fire SLO County Unit Chief John Owens. So much so that he wrote a letter to Air Methods urging it to reconsider its decision or at least work with local and regional partners to come up with alternate solutions to fill the gap.
“Critically ill or injured patients who once reached higher-level care within 45 to 60 minutes may now face ground transports of two to three hours,” Owens wrote. “The ability to bypass local facilities and transport directly to specialized trauma, burn, or pediatric centers is no longer available within our county borders.”
According to his letter, people who are going to be most affected are residents of Heritage Ranch, Oak Shores, Shandon, Creston, the Carrizo Plain, and the coastal communities outside of city centers who already face long drive times to reach the closest emergency department.
Visitors traveling along Highways 41, 46, 58, and 166, and people recreating in state parks and Los Padres National Forest would face similar impacts.
The absence of Mercy Air 34’s services, Owens’ letter added, would also increase the burden on ground ambulances and neighboring counties.
“Its crews have worked side by side with our firefighters, paramedics, and local hospitals to provide rapid transport and advanced medical interventions that cannot be duplicated by ground-based resources alone,” Owens wrote. “The loss of this service leaves a gap in our county’s emergency medical system at a time when every minute can mean the difference between life and death.” ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Sept 18-28, 2025.
Very sad to lose this resource.