Leonardo announced at the Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC, 4-6 November) that Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare, the largest health system in the Intermountain West, and one of the premier health systems in U.S., will add a sixth AW109 GrandNew light twin helicopter to its Intermountain Life Flight air ambulance / EMS program. Intermountain Life Flight currently operates five AW109 GrandNews and one AW109K2 light twin. Intermountain Life Flight is the only IFR EMS operator in Utah with its own low level IFR infrastructure and proprietary heliport approach procedures.

As part of the Intermountain’s not-for-profit health system, Intermountain Life Flight makes 4,000 transports annually and operates seven bases at hospitals across the state providing specialized services including High Risk OB, Complex Cardiac Care and Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump. As the leading air service in the Intermountain West, Intermountain Life Flight is the only civilian-operated air ambulance service in the U.S. to have an FAA-approved external load hoist rescue operation, which can be used for mountain hoist rescue operations in mild weather. Intermountain Life Flight began service on July 5, 1978 as the nation’s seventh air medical program. During the past 40 years, Intermountain Life Flight has transported more than 108,000 patients, flown over 15 million miles, and completed more than 400 hoist rescues.