Airlift Northwest celebrates 40 years of saving lives

Since 1982, Airlift Northwest has provided safe, compassionate and efficient air medical transport for critically ill and injured infants, children and adults.

Each year, they fly 3,600 patients from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, offering in-flight emergency care in the critical period before reaching a hospital. Caring support from donors is essential in keeping these “flying ICUs” ready to save lives, whenever and wherever they’re needed. See the latest updates from Airlift Northwest as they celebrate their 40th anniversary.

1. Airlift Northwest turns 40

In 2022, Airlift Northwest celebrates 40 years of saving lives. The air medical transport service was created in 1982 by Dr. Michael Copass and a consortium of Seattle-area hospitals, including UW Medical Center, Seattle Children’s and Harborview Medical Center. Since then, the air medical transport service has transported over 100,000 patients to hospitals throughout the region.

“Philanthropic support is truly essential for continuing our highest level of air medical equipment, aircraft and flight crew teams to care for critically ill and injured patients,” says Jeff Richey, executive director at Airlift. Jeff and his wife, Katie, have started a new endowment fund at Airlift to help provide professional training/educational opportunities for flight crews, enabling them to continuously learn and innovate the care they offer.

2. New Juneau-based aircraft will serve Alaska’s communities

In September 2021, Airlift Northwest deployed a new Learjet 45XR to its base at Juneau International Airport. With a range of nearly 2,000 miles, the aircraft can provide quick transport to a hospital for patients across southeast Alaska. The aircraft is specially configured with lifesaving equipment and medical supplies, as well as two units of red blood cells and liquid plasma that are proven to increase survival rates for trauma patients when transfused in flight. On board, a two-nurse critical-care team is trained to treat pediatric, obstetric and adult patients. “It is a flying ICU that can quickly and safely get patients where they need to go for comprehensive care while also caring for them in flight,” says Elise Blasco, a flight nurse and base manager for Airlift Northwest.

3. How Airlift Northwest safely transports COVID-19 patients

Providing lifesaving emergency medical transport for patients during a pandemic presents unique challenges. Airlift Northwest has developed special safety protocols for patients who may have COVID-19. When patient Jenny Aguilar became sick with COVID-19, she needed to be transferred to a hospital with an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which takes over when the heart and lungs fail. Airlift created a new procedure to safely fly Aguilar to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. Learn more about Jenny’s story.

4. New Pasco base opens with donor support

The newest Airlift Northwest base, at Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, opened in September 2021 to serve the communities of Central and Eastern Washington. The base has a Swiss-engineered Pilatus PC-12 turboprop airplane, ideal for maneuvering in adverse weather conditions around the Cascades and landing on smaller runways in rural communities. A new ventilator, which will help provide lifesaving care for cardiac patients being flown out of the Tri-Cities, was generously donated to the Pasco base by Maureen and Harry See, an Airlift grateful patient, via the Mary See Foundation.

5. Eastern Washington base will open in summer 2022

This summer, a new Airlift Northwest base will open at Davenport Municipal Airport in Davenport, Washington, serving the communities of Central and Eastern Washington. The base will have a specially configured Airbus H-135 helicopter with instrument flight rules (IFR) capability, which allows pilots to fly in challenging weather conditions. It is one of only a few such equipped emergency helicopters in the area. “The updated interior and avionics makes it an ideal aircraft for transporting critically ill or injured patients,” said Jeff Richey, executive director of Airlift Northwest.

Thanks to a generous gift from the Fickeisen family, a new endowment honoring Airlift Northwest founder Dr. Copass will provide ongoing support for flight crews and specialized training at Davenport and Airlift’s nine other bases throughout the region.

6. Harborview Medical Center and Airlift Northwest study in-flight transfusion

Beginning in summer 2022, UW Medicine researchers will be part of a clinical trial studying whether trauma victims would benefit from a transfusion of whole blood during air transport to the hospital. The current standard therapy involves giving red blood cells and plasma. “Airlift Northwest has carried red blood cells and plasma on every flight for several years now…Using whole blood in this population has the potential to improve outcomes even further,” said Dr. Richard B. Utarnachitt, medical director at Airlift Northwest and a principal investigator for the Seattle trial site.