Life Flight Network, an air medical provider serving the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West from nine locations in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, announced today they will be establishing a new base in Lewiston, Idaho. The critical care trained flight crew and their new high performance aircraft are expected to begin offering lifesaving service to the region no later than April 15, 2010.
“This is an exciting development, not only for the communities surrounding the Lewiston-Clarkston area, but for communities stretching from Orofino, Cottonwood, and Grangeville, to Walla Walla, Enterprise, and Pomeroy to Pullman and Moscow. We look forward to providing the residents of these communities and others a combination of the very finest patient care and rapid air medical transport”, says Michael Griffiths, CEO of Life Flight Network. “Not only is this great news for patients needing an air ambulance, we’re excited to bring jobs to the Lewiston-Clarkston region with an annual payroll exceeding $1.25 million. Life Flight Network was recently named Program of the Year by the international Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS). The community will receive the very highest levels of patient care, customer service, safety, and community support,” Griffiths continues.
In addition to the new base in Lewiston, Life Flight Network operates from bases in Boise, McCall, and Mountain Home, ID; Ontario, Aurora, Hillsboro, and Eugene, OR; and Longview and Dallesport, WA. Complementing its modern fleet of ten medical helicopters, Life Flight Network also provides ground critical care ambulances and fixed-wing aircraft in selected locations. Life Flight Network is wholly owned and supported by not-for-profit health systems including, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Oregon Health & Science University, and Providence Health and Services – Oregon.
“Medical helicopters have long been considered the gold standard for transporting severely injured trauma patients, but the advent of ground breaking treatment for patients suffering heart attacks and strokes has greatly increased the need for Life Flight Network’s service beyond victims of trauma,” Griffiths states.
Life Flight Network provides critical care transport to seriously ill or injured pediatric and adult patients from the scene of an emergency or from one hospital to another. These are the patients who need the highest level of care and the fastest transport possible. The air medical helicopter to be based in Lewiston is fully equipped as a mobile critical care unit with the ability to perform a multitude of highly-skilled medical functions utilizing state-ofthe-art medical equipment.
About Life Flight Network: Life Flight Network is a Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) accredited air medical transport company with administrative offices in Aurora, Oregon. It serves communities in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Rotor-wing services are provided by Air Methods Corporation. Fixed-wing services are provided by Aero Air, LLC and Conyan Aviation. Life Flight Network is positioned to embrace the future with confidence and sustainable growth. The company treasures the respect it has earned from the medical and EMS communities it has served over the last 32 years. For more information, visit www.lifeflight.org.