Life Flight Network: Angels in the Air
Life Flight Network (LFN) is a not-for-profit air medical transport organization founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1978. For nearly fifty years, they have provided ICU-level care and rapid medical transport across the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West, expanding service to Hawai‘i in November 2025.
Today, Life Flight Network operates 65 aircraft from 34 locations across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Hawai‘i. Each aircraft functions as a mobile intensive care unit, carrying advanced equipment and medications. Highly trained, certified flight paramedics and flight nurses bring that ICU-level care directly to patients when time is critical. By shortening the time between an emergency and definitive hospital care, Life Flight Network teams improve patients’ chances of a positive outcome—and, in many cases, save lives.
Life Flight Network serves communities around the clock, 365 days a year, providing advanced care and transportation for patients experiencing serious trauma, cardiac emergencies, strokes, and other life-threatening medical events. Its crews care for patients of all ages, including adults, children, infants, and neonates.
Serving Idaho
Life Flight Network operates six Idaho bases in Boise, Burley, Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston,
Sandpoint, and Hailey, with additional regional coverage provided by bases in eastern Oregon and western Montana.
Its communications and operations control center in Meridian supports the network 24 hours a day, handling service requests, aircraft dispatch, flight monitoring, and transport coordination. That work also requires close coordination with hospitals, EMS agencies, fire departments, and other public safety partners throughout Idaho. For rural communities, that network can make an extraordinary difference.
When the Unexpected Happens
Having personally seen Life Flight Network in action following a terrible and unexpected
accident involving a dear friend and neighbor, I can attest to just how much that difference can mean. Between grace, the efforts of our local EMTs, and the Life Flight Network crew, a life was absolutely saved that day.
The professionalism, care, and speed of the response were awe-inspiring. In a matter of moments, an ordinary day had become the worst kind of emergency a family and community can face. Yet when the unexpected happened, there were people, training, equipment, and an entire system already in place to respond. The worst day of a person’s life does not necessarily have to be his or her last.
A Little More Peace of Mind
Living rurally has many, many benefits, but distance becomes a very different consideration when a medical emergency occurs. When minutes matter, rapid access to advanced medical care can be critical.
Life Flight Network also offers an annual membership program designed to protect eligible members from out-of-pocket costs associated with medically necessary transport by Life Flight Network or it’s reciprocal partners, after any available insurance or other coverage is applied. Membership is $85 per year and covers the primary member, a spouse or domestic partner, and qualifying dependents.
For a rural household, it can provide a little additional peace of mind: the knowledge that if the unimaginable happens and air medical transport becomes necessary, one more financial worry may already have been addressed.
To learn more about Life Flight Network and its membership program, visit lifeflight.org/membership.