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Life Flight Network to add fixed-wing critical care transport base to Lewiston, Idaho

Aurora, Ore., October 18, 2021—Life Flight Network, the nation’s largest not-for-profit air ambulance provider, announced the addition of a fixed-wing critical care transport base in Lewiston, Idaho. This new service will augment existing helicopter and fixed-wing services in north-central Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and western Montana. The new fixed-wing base, slated to open this winter, will serve as a standalone base of operations with dedicated pilots, mechanics, nurses, and paramedics.

“The addition of a Pilatus PC-12 NG fixed-wing aircraft to Lewiston will add capacity to our existing rotor-wing and fixed-wing bases throughout the region and benefit patients who require transfer to specialty care hospitals further distances away,” said Ben Clayton, Interim CEO, Life Flight Network. “This is another example of Life Flight Network’s investment in the communities we serve. The addition of this base will infuse approximately $2M in economic impact to the area.”

The Pilatus PC-12 NG is a state-of-the-art turboprop aircraft sporting safety and pilot workload advances such as the Honeywell Primus Apex cockpit, Smart View Synthetic Vision System, Satellite Graphical Weather, and GPS WAAS/LPV functionality. The aircraft is pressurized and cruises above typical weather patterns experienced in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West. At a top speed of 270 miles per hour, the flight time from Lewiston to Seattle is approximately one hour.

“For more than a decade, Life Flight Network has been a valued partner with St. Joseph Regional Medical Center by helping patients get to life-saving care quickly,” said Kris Moore, Director of St. Joseph’s Emergency Department. “Life Flight Network provides patients with ICU-level transport care, ensuring patients get to St. Joe’s from our rural areas, and providing transport from St. Joe’s to needed specialty care outside the area. Especially as we approach winter and inclement weather, having access to fixed-wing aircraft provides another option, in addition to the helicopter, for transporting patients to the appropriate level of care as quickly and safely as possible.” St. Joseph Regional Medical Center is the largest full-service medical center between Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Washington.

The Pilatus PC-12 NG is the backbone of Life Flight Network’s fixed-wing fleet, with ten operating across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The spacious cabin allows clinicians to access the entire patient throughout flight. The Pilatus PC-12 NG has exceptional short runway flight capabilities as well, allowing for flights into smaller airports in the region.

“Our clinicians value the speed and working environment of the Pilatus PC-12 NG. Whether it is the transport of the most vulnerable neonatal patients or adults suffering from a time-sensitive emergency, this platform provides our nurses, paramedics, and respiratory therapists with the ability to deliver the highest level of ICU transport care possible, all the while at 20,000 feet,” said Casey Seckel, Chief Clinical Officer, Life Flight Network. 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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