First Published September 3, 2026 – Idaho Statesman

By Shannon Tyler

A major air ambulance service in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain region has expanded its presence in the Treasure Valley with a new training center located in Meridian.

On Wednesday, Life Flight Network — it provides emergency helicopter, fixed-wing and ground transport to Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Hawaii — celebrated the opening of its Clinical Center of Excellence, where clinicians from across the region will train and sharpen their skills.

Life Flight’s Clinical Center of Excellence in Meridian will provide advanced, standardized training for air ambulance professionals, including realistic patient simulations. The company celebrated the new training facility’s opening Wednesday.

This center is Life Flight’s first such training facility, and Idaho’s first dedicated to medical air transport.

Company CEO Ben Clayton said the Treasure Valley was the right place to house the center because of its central location to Life Flight’s service areas. “If you think about rural America in particular, services are reducing,” Clayton said. “So when people have emergencies or have issues out in the rural areas, we become a lifeline for that, and having a centralized location that contributes to the overall healthcare system is really important.”

Life Flight’s investment is the newest addition to Meridian’s growth as a medical hub in the area. While headquartered in Oregon, Life Flight has been no stranger to the Treasure Valley, with its primary communication dispatch center also in Meridian.

In fact, the 10,000-squarefoot, $800,000 training facility is located in the same building, and it has everything needed to train new clinicians and run through realistic patient simulations, officials said. The center houses four advanced simulation and debrief rooms, a cadaver lab for procedural training, a medically equipped aircraft and ambulance, classroom space and administrative offices.

Life Flight is owned by four health systems, one of which is Saint Alphonsus. Clinicians, who are highly trained medical responders, are sent to emergencies in places difficult to access by road, or in remote locations. Flight nurses, paramedics and respiratory therapists are able to give ICU-level care while in transport.

Life Flight Network staff cut the ribbon to open the company’s new training center in Meridian, in the same building as Life Flight’s primary communication dispatch center.

The company says the center is one of its biggest investments yet in clinicians. Before the opening, Life Flight relied on its hospital partners for training. The dedicated center will allow for standardized intensive training, Clayton said.

“This truly will have an impact, a direct impact, on patient care,” said Kari Zabala, Life Flight director of clinical education and a paramedic. “So thank you for that investment, and for investing in our clinicians. It will truly, truly make a difference.”

Life Flight opens clinical training center in Meridian Idaho | Idaho Statesman