AuguryA New Around-the-Clock Lifeline: Life Flight Network Launches 24/7 Base at Hillsboro Airport
This article was written by the Augury Times
A new around-the-clock lifeline for western Oregon
Life Flight Network will open a permanent, 24/7 critical care transport base at Hillsboro Airport, the nonprofit announced this week. The new hub is built to handle fixed-wing patient transfers and will begin fixed-wing operations in January. The move matters because it gives hospitals in the region a reliable, always-ready option to move very sick patients quickly to specialty care, especially when ground travel would take too long or roads are blocked.
Why this matters now: faster transfers and steady coverage
Until now, some communities around Portland and western Oregon could face long transfer times when patients needed urgent specialist care. A base that is staffed around the clock shortens the wait for an aircraft and removes the uncertainty of ad hoc flight arrangements. Life Flight Network framed the project as a response to rising demand for interfacility transfers — not just for trauma, but for heart, stroke and neonatal cases that need fast, stable transport to larger hospitals.
Who Life Flight Network is and why it can run this service
Life Flight Network is a not-for-profit air medical service with a long track record moving critically ill patients by helicopter and airplane. The organization operates a mixed fleet of rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) for scene rescues and fixed-wing planes for longer inter-hospital transfers. It also staffs teams of flight nurses, paramedics and critical-care physicians or respiratory therapists when cases demand it. That combination lets the group handle everything from short emergency hops to longer regional transfers that require in-flight medical care.
What the Hillsboro base will do day to day
The Hillsboro station will be set up specifically for fixed-wing transfers and will be staffed 24 hours a day. That means pilots, maintenance crews and critical care flight teams will be on call and ready to launch at any hour. Fixed-wing flights are ideal for moving patients between hospitals across the state or to specialty centers farther away; they travel faster and are less affected by weather than long ground trips. The base will also handle logistics like patient loading, fuel, and coordination with hospital transport teams so transfers go smoothly.
Local partners and the practical benefits on the ground
Life Flight Network plans to work closely with regional hospitals, ambulance services and emergency departments to lower transfer times and expand access to specialty care. Hospital leaders and local officials have said that a nearby, 24/7 air option reduces the time patients spend waiting for the next available transport and can improve outcomes for time-sensitive conditions. The base also brings local jobs in aviation maintenance, piloting and clinical care.
Where this sits in the wider air-medical world
Adding a 24/7 base is part of a broader trend of expanding regional air-medical capacity, especially as hospitals consolidate specialties into fewer centers. But air ambulance services — even nonprofit ones — face steady pressure from costs, staffing shortages and complex billing rules. For patients, a faster flight can be lifesaving; for systems, running aircraft all night adds expense. Policymakers and hospitals will watch how the new base balances better access with the persistent funding and insurance questions that surround air transport services.
What to watch next
Key things to follow are how quickly the new base reduces actual transfer times, whether hospital partners shift more transfers to Hillsboro, and whether the operation ramps up without major staffing or maintenance snags. If it works as planned, western Oregon will have a steadier, faster pathway to specialty care — a practical improvement that can matter in moments when every minute counts.
Photo: Stephen Noulton / Pexels
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