LifeFlight of Maine Celebrates 10 Years of Service

In October, LifeFlight will be recognized by its peers in the US and Canada with the prestigious Program of the Year Award 

September 19, 2008

BANGOR and LEWISTON – LifeFlight of Maine, the state’s only emergency air medical service, celebrated its tenth year of service with open house events at each of its bases in Bangor and Lewiston. The program began in 1998 when healthcare leaders at Central Maine Healthcare Corporation in Lewiston and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Bangor joined forces to create a rapid critical care transport service for the people of Maine.

In addition to the open house celebrations, LifeFlight will mark this milestone in October when the national Association of Air Medical Services honors LifeFlight of Maine with the prestigious Program of the Year award at its annual conference.

“This award is a fitting way to celebrate our tenth anniversary. In our very first year of service, our crew members made a commitment to be the best air medical service in the nation, and every one of them have worked tirelessly to achieve that goal,” said Tom Judge, executive director of LifeFlight.

The award recognizes an emergency medical transport program, national or international, that has demonstrated a superior level of patient care, management prowess, quality leadership through visionary and innovative approaches, customer service, safety consciousness, marketing ingenuity, community service and commitment to the medical transport community as a whole.

Since its inception in 1998, LifeFlight of Maine has grown from serving a few hundred patients annually, to more than 1,400 in 2008. In fact, in its first 10 years, LifeFlight has safely transported more than 8,000 critical patients. This growth can be attributed to many improvements the program has implemented over the last 10 years. LifeFlight has been working with hospitals and airports to create a comprehensive aviation infrastructure that includes helipads, landing zones, weather systems and communications systems. In 2005, the organization purchased new helicopters which are equipped with advanced electronics to allow pilots to fly in a wider range of weather conditions. Night vision goggle technology is currently being implemented to aid the crew when flying after dark. The flight crew continues to upgrade its skill level and often carries more advanced medical equipment to aid in transporting patients with especially complex health needs. All of these improvements mean LifeFlight can safely respond to more of the flight requests it receives.

According to Judge, “Since day one, it has been in our very culture to provide access to quality emergency healthcare in the safest way possible. Over the next decade, we will continue to make improvements and stay on the leading edge of safety and quality. The people of Maine, and our partners in emergency healthcare, deserve a system that is constantly striving to be better.”