Airlift Northwest

Airlift Northwest Membership protects you and members of your household from the unexpected costs of air transport during a medical emergency. When you or a family member are seriously ill or injured, the attending physician or emergency response team may determine that air medical transport is needed. In those cases, you may request Airlift Northwest.

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Our Airlift Community Education (ACE) Program offers ongoing training for local EMS teams, fire departments, hospitals, clinics and the general public through continuing education courses. Visit Airlift Community Education to learn more. For Landing Zone Training and Event participation, contact our Business Development Director Steve LeMay: J80lemay@uw.edu or visit our Outreach & Landing Zone Training page.

When every second counts, Airlift Northwest's Communications Center serves as the first point of contact for our EMS and healthcare partners, ensuring seamless coordination for life-saving assistance. Our highly trained communication specialists, equipped with cutting-edge technology, process a high volume of requests every year, managing the complexity of logistics for patient transport throughout the region. With advanced systems such as CAD-to-CAD integrations, EPCR integrations, and mobile applications that provide up-to-date ETAs to 911, we ensure that all stakeholders—crews, sending and receiving facilities, and first responders—are fully informed throughout the transport process.

Handling a large number of flight requests and patient transports annually, our Communication Center is responsible for dispatching the appropriate aircraft, coordinating operations, and maintaining continuous communication with medical teams. We are dedicated to ensuring timely, precise logistics in the transport of patients with time-sensitive medical conditions. Our team also faces the unique challenges of operating 24/7 across diverse weather conditions and regions, expertly navigating the complexities of the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Certified by the International Association of Medical Transport Communication Specialists (IAMTCS), our specialists undergo comprehensive annual training in flight following, aviation weather, medical terminology, and much more. They stand as a core pillar of our operations, ensuring safety and communication oversight during every transport.

At Airlift Northwest, we are committed to providing exceptional customer service and reliable coordination. Our Communication Center operates 24/7, year-round, ensuring that our services are always available. Let us be your trusted partner in delivering critical care when and where it's needed most.

Contact us at 206.965.1940 for more info.

All Airlift nurses undergo specialized cardiac device training, covering Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP), Impella, and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) transports. Our dedicated cardiac device educator oversees ongoing education for managing these complex patients and devices. Through evidence-based protocols and a rigorous quality assurance program, we ensure standardized care and positive patient outcomes. Our collaboration with the UW ECMO team enables us to provide both primary and secondary ECMO transports, delivering specialized care for critically ill patients.

Qualifications for our flight nursing include: 

• 5 years of critical care or ER experience (adult/pediatric) 
• Each nurse holds certifications in pediatric, adult, and/or neonatal critical care 
• All nurses hold a professional certification of Certified Flight Nurse (CFRN) 

Certifications: 

• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) 
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) 
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) 
• Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses (ATCN) 
• Basic Life Support (BLS)  

Ongoing Training (80-100 hours per year): 

• Clinical rotations at Montlake, Harborview and Seattle Children’s Hospital 
• Competency days, bimonthly continuing education, survival days, water safety egress, and safety training 
• Specialized simulation training: neonatal, pediatric, adult and obstetric patients 

Patient Care: 

• Our nurses transport patients 30+ days old with medical/trauma/neurological issues 
• All crews retain expertise with abilities to manage multiple infusions, invasive monitoring, ventilators, RSI, surgical airways, and temperature management 
• Some crews have ultrasound capabilities 
• All crews have ability to transport balloon pump (IABP), Impella and ECMO patients 
• Aircraft equipped with PRBCs and plasma and participates in a Whole Blood study 

Interested in applying for a nursing position at Airlift? Fill out the Airlift Careers form. 

We’re ready for anything—with the right equipment, technology and personnel for the moment, and the patient. We partner with Bloodworks Northwest and Harborview Medical Center to carry packed red blood cells and liquid plasma on every flight, so we can provide in-flight transfusions without depleting your local blood bank. This has been proven to save lives and benefit patient outcomes. Additionally, we currently carry Whole Blood on some aircraft as part of a Whole Blood study.

We partner with hospitals across Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Our UW Medicine affiliation strengthens our care, while at the same time we maintain good relationships with all hospitals in our region. We fly wherever first responders and care providers decide the patient needs to go for care.