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BY MARCY SHORTUSE - Island residents who have used MEDSTAR in the last few years will want to double-check the bill they received. Some patients may be getting money back.

Lee County officials shut down the medical helicopter service in late August, giving the reason they were seeking national accredidation. Kim Dickerson, operations supervisor for Lee County Emergency Medical Services, told the Beacon last week that the reason for suspending operations was because the team they had in place “wasn’t the right fit,” and that because their director of flight operations was let go, they couldn’t continue to fly.

This week, Lee County officials found out that there were different reasons for the suspended flights ... three million of them.

County Manager Karen Hawes is now under scrutiny for not disclosing that approximately $3 million was improperly billed to patients who used the services. It has also been determined that some of the flight personnel and one of the company’s aircraft were not properly certified. Safety violations and pilot certification have been called into question on some of the flights.

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