US-based not-for-profit air ambulance provider Life Flight Network has added a helicopter critical care transport base in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This new service will augment existing helicopter and fixed wing services in north-central Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana. The new base, slated to open this spring, will serve as a standalone base of operations with dedicated pilots, mechanics, nurses and paramedics.

"With the rapidly increasing population in this region, there has been a greater demand for our services, and we are always listening for feedback from the communities we serve," says vice president Dominic Pomponio. "By placing an additional helicopter in the north Idaho region, we will have increased capacity to support the area's growing population and its critical medical transport needs."

The addition of a helicopter base in Coeur d'Alene will allow for an even faster response time to the surrounding communities, supplementing the coverage provided by bases in Spokane and Pullman, Washington, and Sandpoint and Lewiston, Idaho.

"We are excited about Life Flight Network adding an additional life-saving resource to Kootenai County," adds the County Fire and Rescue fire chief Christopher Way. "We have long enjoyed a great relationship with Life Flight Network and value its ability to transport our most critically ill and injured patients to a hospital when time is of the essence. Today's news is one more example of how valuable a partnership like this is to the patients we serve."

Along with the aircraft's medical interior, the combined efforts of a flight registered nurse and flight paramedic enable Life Flight Network crews to operate a mobile intensive care unit with the ability to perform a multitude of highly skilled medical functions during transport, including video laryngoscopies, ICU-level ventilation and emergency blood transfusions.

"Providing the highest level clinical care is important to all of us at Life Flight Network as we live, work and play in the region alongside the patients we serve," says chief clinical officer Casey Seckel. "The addition of the helicopter base in Coeur d'Alene will undoubtedly save lives by providing patients a faster response when time is of the essence."

The Coeur d'Alene-based helicopter will be a single engine AgustaWestland AW119Kx Koala. It is equipped with a Garmin G-1000H cockpit and has the capacity to transport two patients or a specialty team with unencumbered full-body access while cruising at 166 mph. Life Flight Network operates 21 medically equipped AW119Kxs across the US, in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.