{"id":22713,"date":"2025-08-20T01:38:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T07:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22713"},"modified":"2025-08-18T14:40:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T20:40:37","slug":"air-st-lukes-life-flight-to-station-air-ambulances-in-wood-river-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/air-st-lukes-life-flight-to-station-air-ambulances-in-wood-river-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Air St. Luke\u2019s, Life Flight To Station Air Ambulances In Wood River Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Medical Transport Nonprofit Will Strengthen Emergency Response, Officials Say<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Mark Dee
\n<\/em>
\nA pair of air ambulance providers are expanding emergency operations in the Wood River Valley, boosting the valley\u2019s full-time fleet of medical transport helicopters from zero to two.
\nAir St. Luke\u2019s began stationing a helicopter and crew at St. Luke\u2019s Wood River Medical Center in Ketchum on Aug. 9. And Life Flight Network, a non-profit air ambulance provider, plans to open a new base in Hailey, the organization announced this month.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re humbled by the opportunity to expand our presence in Idaho with a new base in Hailey,\u201d Ben Clayton, chief executive officer at Life Flight Network, said in a statement. \u201cOur vision is to ensure every community has access to lifesaving care. By reducing transport times and delivering ICU-level care from the moment we arrive at a patient\u2019s side we can improve survivability and outcomes across south-central Idaho.\u201d
\nLife Flight plans to station a \u201cmobile intensive care unit\u201d at the site, with a crew of pilots, flight nurses, paramedics and mechanics operating and maintaining a specialized Bell 407GXi helicopter. Life Flight\u2019s team can perform \u201chighly skilled medical functions,\u201d including blood transfusions, midflight, the organization states.
\nThe Hailey base is the conclusion of discussions between the non-profit, health care providers, first responders and local public officials, who saw a need for \u201cdedicated air medical resources in the region.\u201d
\n\u201cBlaine County is experiencing increasing demand for fast and reliable emergency medical transport,\u201d said Blaine County EMS Medical Director Dr. Malie Koplin. \u201cHaving a dedicated air ambulance based locally will strengthen our response to time-sensitive emergencies and improve patient outcomes.\u201d
\nFounded in 1978, Life Flight partners with hospitals in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho. Here, they work with Saint Alphonsus in Boise, a Level II trauma center that commonly accepts Blaine County\u2019s most severe cases.
\n\u201cWe are incredibly excited about our partnership with Life Flight Network and what it means for our community,\u201d Blaine County Sheriff Morgan Ballis said in a statement. \u201cHaving a critical care air ambulance stationed locally will increase patient access to timely medical intervention, leading to more lives saved.\u201d
\nAir St. Luke\u2019s has operated with in Blaine County for more than two decades, in recent years landing on the roof of St. Luke\u2019s Wood River Medical Center; its helicopters were previously based in Boise and Twin Falls, according to the hospital network\u2019s website.
\n\u201cWe are proud to bring this air ambulance resource directly to our local community to enhance our ability to respond to time-sensitive emergencies like heart attacks, strokes and trauma,\u201d Almita Nunnelee, chief nursing officer and chief operating officer at St. Luke\u2019s Wood River said in a statement. \u201cThis critical addition strengthens our commitment to providing rapid, high-quality care when every second counts. I\u2019m thrilled about the impact this will have as we continue to serve our friends, neighbors and visitors with the compassion and excellence they deserve.\u201d
\nLife Flight picked Hailey because of the region\u2019s \u201cgrowing year-round population\u201d and popularity as a recreation destination, the organization said. Hailey\u2019s base will be Life Flight\u2019s fifth in Idaho, joining Boise, Burley, Lewiston, Couer d\u2019Alene and Sandpoint.
\nBlaine County Commissioner Angenie McCleary said she was \u201cthrilled\u201d to options for medical transport enter the valley.
\n\u201cHaving a helicopter based here will greatly enhance patient care and improve our medical response capabilities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Medical Transport Nonprofit Will Strengthen Emergency Response, Officials Say By Mark Dee A pair of air ambulance providers are expanding emergency operations in the Wood River Valley, boosting the valley\u2019s full-time fleet of medical transport helicopters from zero to two. Air St. Luke\u2019s began stationing a helicopter and crew at St. Luke\u2019s Wood River Medical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-in-brief"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22715,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22713\/revisions\/22715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}