In an emergency, local fire departments — including the Bainbridge Island Fire Department — partner with airlift operators to transport patients who require specialized emergency care, especially when they can’t be taken to nearby hospitals.
Airlift Northwest, an air ambulance company affiliated with the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center, serves patients throughout Washington and five other states.
The agency operates about 4,500 flights a year across its network, said Steve LeMay, Airlift Northwest’s director of business development and strategy.
Helicopter flight teams consist of two providers — either two nurses or a nurse and a physician. LeMay said Airlift Northwest is the only academic flight program on the West Coast, apart from Stanford, to provide this level of care.
“We’re the only flight program that carries blood and plasma on every flight, and that has really helped a lot of outcomes, especially in rural areas like Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County — getting that life-saving blood to people,” LeMay said. “Having the power of Harborview and UW Medicine behind us, you’re bringing a mobile intensive care unit to an environment that wouldn’t normally have that without us.”
BI fire chief Jared Moravec said the agency requested five airlifts in May and 44 air medical transports last year. While Airlift Northwest provides most of the airlifts, it is not the only air medical provider.
When residents on BI need emergency transport, crews are typically dispatched from Bremerton National Airport, LeMay said.
Local fire department paramedics determine the acuity — or severity — of a call and whether further transport is needed to safely and quickly get patients to the appropriate level of care, LeMay said.
Station 21 on BI is specially equipped with a helipad, which serves as the primary landing site for island airlift operations. However, LeMay said the landing location can vary depending on the patient’s needs and location.
“We’ve closed down freeways. We’ve closed down baseball diamonds. It’s really up to our pilot and the fire department to decide if there’s an appropriate landing zone that’s safe,” he said.
Moravec explained how the agency determines the right level of care for a patient.
“Patients requiring air medical transport are generally what we consider more ‘sick’ than lower-acuity patients. These patients typically require advanced life support interventions provided by our paramedics and often require advanced, definitive medical care that can only be provided in Seattle,” he said. “Calls requiring air medical transport almost always require multiple units and personnel to respond and provide care.”
LeMay said one common misconception is that patients will receive a $20,000 bill or risk losing their home to pay for air medical transport. Airlift Northwest offers a membership for a set rate that helps cover the cost.
“All members of the household are required to have an insurance product that includes air medical transport benefits,” per the UW Medicine website.
The average flight time from receiving a call to landing on Bainbridge Island is about 17 minutes. This includes safety checks and preparing medications and blood. Once on the island, the flight time from liftoff to Harborview is about six to seven minutes, LeMay said.
LeMay added that the agency works with local fire departments, including BI, to conduct ongoing training in areas such as landing operations, helicopter safety, and identifying which types of patients should be flown.
To learn more about the Airlift Northwest membership, visit uwmedicine.org/airliftnw/membership
