Mercy Life Line to leave Joplin area; heads to Arkansas

In an effort to serve more patients, the Life Line Mercy Joplin, will be relocated to Mercy Fort Smith. Service from the Joplin facility will end at 7 a.m., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020.
The decision will impact 12 coworkers, six of whom are full-time.Employees are being provided with a variety of options, including open positions in the Joplin and Springfield area or relocating to Arkansas and serving with the Life Line team there. Mercy hopes to retain as many employees as possible.
The Joplin area has seen an increase in air ambulance options since reopening the hospital and stationed Life Line at the hospital. Call volumes had dropped, while at the same time the need for air ambulances has grown in the Arkansas area.
To better serve Joplin area patients, Mercy will continue to partner with other air ambulance providers in the area. In addition, the Mercy Life Line helicopters in Branson West and Rogers, Arkansas, are only a short flight away.
For those who have a Life Line membership, the team will be reaching out with options for keeping a membership or getting a pro-rated refund.