Flight for Life is a prehospital care service with many bases of operation across the United States. Flight for Life is primarily known for its emergency medical helicopter transport but also operates a fleet of land vehicles and fixed-wing aircraft for the transport of critically ill patients to specialized medical care.
Helicopter transport is normally reserved for the most critically injured patients or patients who cannot be reached by traditional means of Emergency medical services. Helicopter transport is also especially useful for the transport of critically wounded patients to specialty medical facilities, such as burn, pediatric, or advanced trauma centers, that may be further away from the location of injury.
Many rural communities rely on the speed of the helicopter to reach and evacuate their most serious patients to an available medical center. The helicopter may also be used for search and rescue operations in conjunction with ground units or alone.
Flight For Life began in 1972 with a single Alouette III helicopter, based at St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, Colorado. It was the first civilian, hospital-based medical helicopter program in the U.S. It has grown to be a regional program responding to nine states.
On June 1, 2004, St. Anthony Flight For Life and Penrose-St. Francis Flight For Life in Colorado Springs, Colorado consolidated under a single administrative structure based at St. Anthony Hospital and became Flight For Life Colorado. The following November, operations expanded to Pueblo, Colorado with a fourth helicopter. In August 2011, a fifth helicopter and second fixed-wing base were added in Durango, Colorado.
According to en.wikipedia.org. Source of photo: internet
