Life Flight Network Adds Idaho Critical Care Transport Base

PRESS RELEASE

AURORA, OR—Life Flight Network, a not-for-profit air ambulance provider, announced Jan. 18, 2022, 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, according to a release.

“We are excited about Life Flight Network adding an additional lifesaving 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 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 and efficient rotor-wing transport and the highest productivity levels among single-engine helicopters. Equipped with a Garmin G-1000H cockpit, it provides excellent situational awareness to the pilot.

The aircraft has the capacity to transport two patients or a specialty team with unencumbered full-body access while cruising at 166 miles per hour.

Life Flight Network is the largest operator of medically equipped AW119Kx’s in the United States, with 21 operating across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, a release states. 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 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.