With over four decades of experience, Life Flight Network has been the nation’s leading air medical transport provider. We have established bases throughout the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West, offering ICU-level care and support to hospitals, emergency responders, police, EMS, and fire departments. With an unwavering commitment to patient care, Life Flight Network continues to set the standard for air medical transportation.
1978
Beginning in 1978 as Emanuel Life Flight, Emanuel Hospital (now Legacy Emanuel Medical Center) owned and operated the program. Emanuel Life Flight was one of the first hospital-based air ambulances on the West Coast and only the fourth in the nation. Transporting 121 patients in its first year, a French-made Alouette-3 helicopter was the program’s inaugural aircraft.
1993
In 1993, Emanuel Life Flight merged with Aircare, a Providence Health System flight program; our name was changed to reflect this milestone, and Emanuel Life Flight became Life Flight Network. This merger and name change came in concert with the decision of the three largest healthcare providers in the Portland metropolitan area to jointly participate in the ownership and overall operation of Life Flight Network; the day-to-day operation of Life Flight Network remained under the auspices of Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
2006
Life Flight Network achieves accreditation from Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS).
2007
October 1, 2007, Life Flight Network was separated from the hospital structure and began operations under its own steam.
In 2006, the consortium made a strategic decision to transfer the organization from the governance of the hospital structure and separate it into its own entity. The consortium recognized Life Flight Network would need the strength of its own organizational structure if it was going to survive in the rapidly growing and increasingly competitive air medical industry.
2009
Life Flight Network received the AAMS Program of the Year Award, becoming the first West Coast flight program to receive the honor.
In September of 2009, Boise-based Saint Alphonsus Life Flight made a strategic decision to join Life Flight Network. Both Life Flight Network and Saint Alphonsus Life Flight realized long-term survivability would depend on the ability to collaborate with other like-minded organizations. Founded in 1986, Saint Alphonsus Life Flight’s reputation in Idaho and eastern Oregon was unparalleled.
2021
Life Flight Network is awarded the prestigious AAMS Program of the Year for the second time.
2023
AAMS bestows Life Flight Network with the Neonatal and Pediatric Transport Award of Excellence.
Today, Life Flight Network is a nationally recognized air medical transport service covering a large part of the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West, all while never losing sight of its core mission: saving lives with industry-leading care and transport.
A consortium of Oregon Health & Science University, Legacy Health, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, and Providence Health & Services own Life Flight Network. The combined strength of these world-class health institutions ensures the program’s quality remains as safe and strong today as when we started in 1978.
EMS and Hospital Personnel:
For immediate emergency dispatch, call us 24/7. We’re standing by.
