AURORA, Ore., Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Flight
Network, the nation's largest not-for-profit air ambulance
provider, announced the addition of a helicopter critical care
transport base in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This new service will augment existing
helicopter and fixed-wing services in north-central Idaho, eastern Washington, and western Montana. The new helicopter base, slated to
open this spring, will serve as a standalone base of operations
with dedicated pilots, mechanics, nurses, and paramedics.
"With the rapidly increasing population in this region, there
has been a greater demand for our services, and we are always
listening for feedback from the communities we serve. By placing an
additional helicopter in the North
Idaho region, we will have increased capacity to support the
area's growing population and their critical medical transport
needs," said Dominic Pomponio, Vice
President, Life Flight Network.
The addition of a helicopter base in Coeur d'Alene will allow
for an even faster response time to the surrounding communities,
supplementing the coverage provided by bases in Spokane and Pullman,
WA, and Sandpoint and
Lewiston, ID.
"We are excited about Life Flight Network adding an additional
life-saving resource to Kootenai County. We have long enjoyed
a great relationship with Life Flight Network and value their
ability to transport our most critically ill and injured patients
to a hospital when time is of the essence. Today's news is one more
example of how valuable a partnership like this is to the patients
we serve," said Christopher Way,
Fire Chief, Kootenai County Fire
& Rescue.
Along with the aircraft's state of the art medical interior, the
combined efforts of a flight registered nurse and flight paramedic
enable Life Flight Network crews to operate a mobile intensive care
unit with the ability to perform a multitude of highly skilled
medical functions during transport, including video laryngoscopes,
ICU-level ventilators, and emergency blood transfusions.
"Providing the highest level clinical care is important to all
of us at Life Flight Network as we live, work, and play in the
region alongside the patients we serve. The addition of the
helicopter base in Coeur d'Alene will undoubtedly save lives by
providing patients a faster response when time is of the essence,"
said Casey Seckel, Chief Clinical Officer, Life Flight Network.
The helicopter based in Coeur d'Alene will be an AgustaWestland
AW119Kx 'Koala,' providing safe, reliable, and efficient rotor-wing
transport and the highest productivity levels among single-engine
helicopters. Equipped with a state-of-the-art Garmin G-1000H
cockpit, it provides excellent situational awareness to the pilot.
The aircraft is spacious with the capacity to transport two
patients or a specialty team with unencumbered full-body access
while cruising at an impressive speed of 166 miles per hour. Life
Flight Network is the largest operator of medically equipped
AW119Kx's in the United States,
with twenty-one operating across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.
For more information about Life Flight Network visit:
www.lifeflight.org.
ABOUT LIFE FLIGHT NETWORK
Life Flight Network, a
not-for-profit air medical service, is accredited by the Commission
on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS), the National
Accreditation Alliance of Medical Transport Applications (NAAMTA),
and Helicopter Association International (HAI). Life Flight Network
is the largest not-for-profit air medical transport service in
the United States and maintains
its own FAA Part 135 Operating Certificate. It offers ICU-level
care during air transport across the Pacific Northwest and
Intermountain West. Life Flight
Network, headquartered in Aurora,
Oregon, was named 2021 Program of the Year by the
Association of Air Medical Services. For more information about
Life Flight Network or to become a member, visit
www.lifeflight.org.
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SOURCE Life Flight Network