US-based not-for-profit air medical transport service Life Flight Network has opened a new critical care transport base in Hoquiam, Washington. Slated to begin operations in mid spring this year, Life Flight Network's flight crew will be based at Bowerman airport with both fixed and rotor wing aircraft. The new base, part of its continued effort to expand rural access to critical air medical resources, will provide lifesaving care to Washington's western peninsula and the surrounding communities.

As the region's premiere aeromedical provider, Life Flight Network will staff the base with highly trained pilots, flight nurses, flight paramedics and mechanics. Within the aircrafts' medical interiors, the flight crews operate mobile intensive care units and can perform a multitude of highly skilled medical functions during transport. Through speed and with compassion these expert clinicians save lives and improve patient outcomes by delivering the highest levels of care to the communities they serve.

"We are very happy to hear that Life Flight Network is bringing dedicated air medical resources to Grays Harbor County," says Hoquiam fire chief Matt Miller. "Its presence will enable us to expedite transport of critical patients to definitive care, saving countless lives. We have worked side by side with this organisation many times, and its crews have proven to be trustworthy, capable and reliable. We look forward to welcoming it to the area and continuing to work together to care for this community."

The company will place both a helicopter and an aircraft at Bowerman Field, accommodating short and long range transports and a variety of weather conditions. The base, an example of Life Flight Network's investment in the communities it serves, will infuse nearly $2 million in economic impact to the area, creating approximately 20 new jobs.

Life Flight chief business officer Dominic Pomponio says: "We exist for one reason: to save lives. By stationing a helicopter and fixed wing aircraft at Bowerman airport, response times to patients experiencing a critical medical emergency will be reduced, improving survivability and patient outcomes."