Oct. 31—Life Flight Network is roughly doubling its Lewiston base with the addition of an airplane that is expected to arrive this winter.
The not-for-profit air ambulance service presently has a helicopter stationed in Lewiston that's run by a staff of 16 nurses, pilots, paramedics and mechanics, said Dominic Pomponio, a vice president at Life Flight.
The helicopter serves a variety of roles, Pomponio said.
It can land at accident scenes in remote areas to get trauma victims to area hospitals and take heart attack and stroke patients in towns such as Grangeville and Orofino to St. Joe's in Lewiston.
It also flies St. Joseph Regional Medical Center patients to Boise, Spokane or Coeur d'Alene if they need treatments not available in north central Idaho or southeastern Washington, Pomponio said.
"We try to send the helicopter when it's possible and practical," he said. "Helicopters can land at a hospital. There's a lot of time savings there."
The airplane will transport patients greater distances to cities such as Seattle and Portland, Ore., and make trips in conditions that are too snowy or foggy for helicopters.
Life Flight does that now, but has to bring in airplanes from other places, Pomponio said.
The Pilatus PC-NG airplane that will be based in Lewiston has a number of features that will benefit patients, he said.
The interior is outfitted with equipment that will enable its medical crew to deliver intensive care unit-level care to patients ranging from premature babies to senior citizens.
It also will be able to land and take off from some of the area's smallest airports, including Orofino and Grangeville, in many types of weather.
"The aircraft is pressurized and cruises above typical weather patterns experienced in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West," according to a Life Flight news release. "At a top speed of 270 mph, the flight time from Lewiston to Seattle is approximately one hour."
The addition of the airplane is welcomed by St. Joe's.
"Especially as we approach winter and inclement weather, having access to a 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," according to a statement from Kris Moore, St. Joe's emergency department director, in the news release.
The new airplane in Lewiston will join a growing number of Life Flight operations that serve the Inland Northwest.
Life Flight opened its Lewiston base in 2010 and is now the largest nonprofit provider of air ambulance services in the nation, serving Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana, according to the news release.
Besides the Lewiston helicopter and crew, its Inland Northwest operations include helicopters based in Pullman, Spokane, Sandpoint, La Grande, Ore., Walla Walla, Richland and Missoula, Mont.
It also has airplanes in Spokane, La Grande and Richland as well as ground ambulances in Spokane and Richland.
The Lewiston expansion is a "huge" stride "forward for the health care delivery system in the area," Pomponio said.
Williams may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2261.
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