Flight For Life (FFL) understands that responsible health care providers won’t risk anything less than proven quality, safety, and professionalism when choosing a transport team for their patient. Positive outcomes for patients are best achieved through teamwork. A partnership with your community’s hospital or pre-hospital team is essential in providing continuity of care during a patient’s “out-of-hospital” experience.

The medical team is comprised of a Flight Nurse and Flight Paramedic. All FFL medical personnel obtain certification and advanced training in areas specific to air medical transport. This training sharpens their assessment skills and enhances their clinical judgment. Flight For Life provides extensive continuing education for all medical crew members.

Safety is the number one priority at Flight For Life.  The pilot determines if a flight is going to be accepted, based on a number of factors. Weather is one of the most significant variables in any air medical transfer. Our pilots can quickly access computerized weather information systems to determine if it is possible to accept and complete a transport request. Each aircraft has two dedicated mechanics who are responsible for daily and scheduled maintenance. The mechanics, working as a team with the pilots at each site, guarantee peak aircraft safety and performance.

Hospital staff, pre-hospital emergency medical services personnel, physicians, law enforcement agencies, fire departments and industrial safety personnel can call the FFL Communications Center or can utilize the Helicopter Activation feature of the FFL Central App to arrange air medical transport for a patient. Local agencies can request Flight For Life when assistance is needed for special operations such as airborne searches. Our response is also integrated into the mass casualty plans of many communities.

FFL is equipped to handle the most critical of patients. Our teams undergo extensive ongoing training and are able to perform advanced procedures that prepare them for a variety of medical conditions and injuries. Patients from referring hospitals or pre-hospital scene calls are transferred to receiving facilities that provide the specialty care they need. Direct access is provided to the following intensive care services: trauma, cardiac, STEMI, stroke, neurological injuries (including spinal cord and head trauma), limb replantation, burn, pediatric, neonatal, high-risk obstetrics, surgery, critical care medicine, organ procurement, and HBO (hyperbaric oxygen therapy). Teams can administer and continue the infusion of a variety of drugs including tPA. They are also trained and skilled at performing advanced airway procedures. Flight For Life can transport the most complex cardiac patients, including those on balloon pumps, impella cardiac pumps, ECMO, and those with LVAD or BiVAD devices.

Flight For Life was the first program in the state of Wisconsin to achieve accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS). Flight For Life has been re-accredited every three years since receiving its initial accreditation in 1996. This voluntary accreditation process evaluates a program’s compliance with specific national standards regarding air medical transport.