LifeFlight of Maine1. LifeFlight of Maine is not just a general name for medical-transport helicopters.
News reports of accidents or other emergencies in Maine will often mention LifeFlight by name, but people may not realize the term is not a generic catchall for air ambulances, similar to how Jaws of Life has wound up as shorthand for hydraulic rescue tools. LifeFlight of Maine is an independent nonprofit organization and Maine’s only air-ambulance service. LifeFlight was founded in 1998, when Maine was the only state in the country without dedicated medical helicopters. The organization continues to play an important role in connecting people to the life-saving care they need.
2. LifeFlight of Maine does more than fly.
In addition to helicopters based in Bangor, Lewiston, and Sanford, and a fixed-wing airplane based in Bangor, LifeFlight operates a fleet of specialized ground ambulances. In 2023, 15 percent of LifeFlight’s transports were by ground. Federal funding is helping to expand the program, which is designed to add capacity and increase reliability to the existing critical-care ground-transport system, not to compete with it.
3. LifeFlight of Maine provides critical care.
LifeFlight doesn’t just bring patients to the hospital, it brings the ICU directly to patients. Each LifeFlight transport team includes two state-licensed clinicians with an expanded scope of practice and trained to administer care that exceeds what most other EMS teams in the state are licensed to do. For some procedures, like intubating children and infants, staff in smaller hospitals may even wait for LifeFlight’s arrival, deferring to the expertise and experience of LifeFlight’s technicians. Each aircraft and ground ambulance also carries blood products and other vital medical equipment and supplies.
4. A LifeFlight of Maine helicopter doesn’t require a hospital helipad to land.
When LifeFlight was founded, there were only two helipads in the state. Now, most hospitals have a permanent landing pad. LifeFlight also frequently utilizes temporary landing zones — relatively level spaces with roughly 100-by-100 feet of clearance — for which they maintain a database of GPS coordinates. In 2023, eight percent of transports were scene transports, and the fleet has landed in thousands of different locations around Maine in its 26-year history. The goal is to allow for timely treatment of people who are severely injured or suffer a medical event far from a hospital.
5. LifeFlight of Maine serves one patient every 3 ½ hours, every day of the year.
That number will continue to rise due both to an increased need for, and availability of, LifeFlight’s services. The emergency medical system in Maine continues to face challenges — for example, six hospitals in Maine closed their obstetrics and delivery practices between 2015 and 2023. In partnership with the state’s entire emergency-care system, LifeFlight has transported more than 38,000 patients and continues working to give Mainers their best chance on their worst day.