By Justin Davis, Drone Camps RC · October 6, 2026
A medical drone delivery project in northern Michigan begins its second phase on October 6, expanding a pilot first flown in 2025 into something much closer to a working healthcare logistics network.
The project is led by Traverse Connect, Munson Healthcare, blueflite, and Central Michigan University's Rural Health Excellence Institute. Test flights will run between Munson Medical Center and Crystal Lake Health Center in the Traverse City area through October 30, simulating deliveries of medical supplies, laboratory samples, and medications between Munson Healthcare facilities.
Phase one ran May 9 through May 20, 2025, completing nearly 70 flights within a one-mile radius of Munson Medical Center. Those flights focused on the feasibility of moving patient lab samples between facilities and whether drones could tighten the time between testing, diagnosis, and treatment.
Phase two pushes further: longer flights, multiple drones in the air, and sensor technology, all with FAA approval. The partners say the data gathered will inform best practices for statewide and national adoption — a replicable model for bringing drone logistics to rural healthcare.
