Last month marked the second anniversary for Air Life of Oregon’s dedicated base in Union County.

For two years, we’ve had the honor of working closely with the skilled medical professionals in Northeast Oregon, joining forces to care for your friends and family members in times of need. It’s been a blessing for us to be welcomed with open arms into the community and into your lives, and we thank you for the role you’ve played in making us feel at home.

Our crew members became keenly aware of just how tied they feel to the Northeast Oregon communities during the recent fire at the La Grande Airport Fixed Base Operations center. Roused from their beds at the La Grande airport for a 1 a.m. patient flight, our crew members noticed smoke next door. These are men and women whose professional careers revolve around disasters, but seeing the FBO in flames hit close to home. They phoned in the emergency and kept an eye on the situation as they finished their pre-flight procedures. This wasn’t just about another emergency response for them. It was about taking care of friends and neighbors. For Air Life, this is at the core of our mission.

Though we’ve been serving Northeast Oregon consistently for almost 19 years, establishing a dedicated base in Union County has given us a stronger sense of community kinship with our friends and partners in this region. Having a base here has allowed us to provide faster response times and better patient care. Since we first began staffing the full-time fixed-wing base in February 2001, our ties to the area’s communities have solidified. Our crew is here 24-hours a day, seven days a week to meet the needs of severely ill or injured patients.

Our commitment to Northeast Oregon is one we take very seriously. When we first established our base in La Grande, we hired 17 new employees, bought a new airplane, and have recently completed construction on a new 10,000-square foot hangar. There’s no question about it – we’re here to stay!

Another way we strive to serve our patients and partners is through our membership program. It’s no secret that the cost of health care is rising rapidly, and air transport in an emergency situation can range in cost from $6,000 to $17,000. This is where our membership program can literally save you thousands of dollars.

For example, a local woman was recently in a serious car accident. The Wallowa County Ambulance team responded quickly to the scene and determined the woman needed advanced trauma care. The Wallowa crew activated Air Life and our flight team responded from the Northeast Oregon base. Air Life flew the patient to the closest medically appropriate facility in Portland.

In this case, the woman’s transport costs with Air Life and Wallowa County Ambulance were about $16,000. Because she had purchased an $80 ground/air combo membership with Air Life and Wallowa County, we billed her insurance and accepted the $10,000 they covered as payment in full. We wrote off the remaining $6,000 – money that would have come right out of her pocket without the membership. Membership also covers her whole family for transport with any of our ground or air affiliates.

Though Air Life is certainly the dominant air ambulance provider in the Northeast Oregon region, we know we aren’t the only service available. It can be downright confusing to determine what’s right for your family. Here are a couple of key things that distinguish Air Life from some of the other air ambulance services:

Air Life is the only Oregon-based air ambulance service to receive accreditation from the prestigious Commission on Accreditation of Medical Air Transport Services (CAMTS). That means we meet the highest level of standards for patient care, safety and training.

Air Life is the only program to offer ground/air combination memberships with your local ground affiliates. Your discounted ground/air combo package with MedicOne or Wallowa County Ambulance offers coverage for both ground and air transport with any of those agencies and our affiliates.

We’re in your backyard. Air Life is the only air ambulance service with a dedicated base right here in Northeast Oregon. That means you don’t have to wait for someone to respond from out-of-state when every second counts.