LONG BEACH – Speaking recently at an American Association of University Women meeting, Life Flight Network spokesperson Betty Colgrove said that after March 15 the current membership policy that many Peninsula residents hold will no longer include coverage throughout the continental U.S.

It will now only cover Life Flight’s service area, which includes Oregon and Southwest Washington (north to Tacoma). Once a very attractive membership for snowbirds, it will no longer cover them outside our area.

Life Flight Network is a non-profit organization and as such has sold memberships. The insurance commissioner for the state of Washington will not allow them to sell the service as an insurance policy.

In the past, Life Flight has honored reciprocal arrangements, where they picked up other companies’ patients and other companies picked up theirs. They have worked cooperatively with Air Lift Northwest (Seattle) and Northwest Medstar (Spokane). Which service is used is decided upon by the attending physician. Cost is never a consideration.

The Peninsula’s isolation frequently necessitates use of this service. The response time to Ilwaco is from 35- to 40-minutes. It takes them three to five minutes to get off the ground once they receive a call. Crews are sitting ready to go. Weather can be an issue. The FAA gives them minimum safety requirements to fly.

The actual cost can be $5,000 or more and if your medical insurance does not cover it, their $90 a year membership is a bargain. It does not include ground coverage getting to the helicopter or airplane. They do not screen requests, they just go. Medicaid patients only pay $150 and their company often has to absorb the balance. At the present time, they have 14,000 memberships and medical reimbursements are much less than the actual cost. If you have Medigap Insurance along with your Medicare, you are fully covered for this service. Read the policy to be sure.

Some background on Life Flight includes how to access them using 911. They cannot be called directly, as it has to be a law enforcement agency requesting the flight as landing arrangements must be secured when they are called. Life Flight takes patients to Emanuel and Oregon Health Sciences University hospitals in Portland. They fly out of the Hillsboro and Aurora airports. They also have services out of Bend, Medford, and Brookings.

Usually accident, cardiac or other serious condition victims are taken to the nearest hospital. It is for the receiving hospital to decide if Life Flight needs to be called. They have two helicopters and two fixed-wing airplanes. Family members can ride in the airplane also, but not in the helicopter. Colgrove said they usually land the plane in Astoria and come across the bridge to get Peninsula residents. Once they land on the helipad, patients are whisked into surgery or immediate care. Often hospital admitting for the receiving hospital is the last to know that the patient is even at the hospital. Ask the pilot to tell you which hospital they are flying to.

Starting service in 1978 with 200 calls (most of which were public relations flights), their service has grown to 1,200 calls a year. It costs $5,000 each time a flight lifts off with their three staff including a pilot, flight nurse and paramedic. Requirements are strict for these positions. Paramedics must have at least five years in the field and nurses must have experience in a critical care unit or emergency room.

When Life Flight began serving Oregon and Southwest Washington, it was the nation’s fourth hospital-based emergency helicopter transport service and the first on the West Coast. Aeroair based in Hillsboro, Ore., owns the planes and provides the pilots and also the dispatcher service.

Colgrove manages Life Flight’s office and does all the public relations work. If a group or school would like to have her come talk, they can reach her at (800) 982-9299. She also gives training to local fire departments on supervision of safe landings and other topics. They visit local high schools during prom seasons to give demonstrations on the results of drunk driving. Their bi-annual newsletter Tailwinds tells the stories of several recent rescues and contains their motto “saving lives through emergency air transport … anywhere, anytime, anyone.” Donations can be made to support Life Flight Network at 2801 N. Gantenbien, Portland, OR 97227.