AirMed's Air Medical Transport Comes With Experience

Who flew the first heart transplant patient in the Southeast?

Answer:  Jeffrey T. Tolbert

In 1982, Captain Jeff Tolbert, founder and CEO of AirMed International, identified a need for dedicated fixed-wing medical air service after he flew the first heart transplant patient in the Southeastern United States to UAB Medical Center. 

In 1983, Tolbert was the first in the U.S. to operate civilian jet aircraft equipped exclusively for medical transportation and also operated the first civilian aircraft equipped with a medical liquid-oxygen system.

In 1991, Tolbert pioneered the concept of offering medical air evacuation membership coverage to U.S. citizens and corporations after a client suffered financial hardship paying for his son’s evacuation from Afghanistan. Shortly thereafter, Alabama native Tolbert founded the Birmingham-based company, MEDJet. 

In 1998, this company split into two distinct companies, MEDjet Assistance and MEDjet International with Tolbert heading up the latter. In an effort to alleviate confusion and to better serve our customers, MEDjet International was renamed AirMed International LLC in 2003. Based on Tolbert’s vision, AirMed quickly grew to become the country’s premier air ambulance service. It is privately owned and operated.

AirMed operates two distinct lines of business: a fee-for-service air medical transport program and a prepaid membership program. Both provide air ambulance services to patients anywhere in the world.