On Dec. 23, officials with Sumner Regional Medical Center (SRMC) and executives from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and LifePoint Health gathered to commemorate the opening of a new helipad on the hospital campus. The hospital broke ground in the fall to create a new landing site for LifeFlight to use for transporting and receiving patients for emergency care to and from the 155-bed Gallatin hospital.

"This new helipad is a key part of our ongoing commitment at Sumner Regional to provide fast, life-saving, high-quality emergency care to our region and is another advancement we have to celebrate through our affiliation with Vanderbilt," said SRMC CEO Susan Peach, who added the helipad will also allow quick transport to VUMC for patients in need of a higher level of emergency care. The flight between SRMC and VUMC is 12 minutes compared to a 30-45 minute drive, depending on traffic conditions, by ambulance.