Airlift Northwest

October 20, 2022 – Airlift Northwest has been serving the communities of Southeast Alaska for 40 years and established a base in Juneau over 25 years ago. Dr. Michael Copass, then Director of Emergency Services at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, created the region’s first air medical transport service in 1982 after a tragic house fire in Sitka claimed the lives of three children who could not be transported to the care they needed because there were no medevac providers in Southeast Alaska.

“While Airlift Northwest is a mission-driven not-for-profit entity of UW Medicine, we are financially independent and required to cover the costs of providing medevac services. The increased summer medevac volume from the visitor industry means we can continue to serve Southeast Alaskans year-round. Our base employs 14 nurses who live in Juneau and are part of the community. They appreciate the training and resources UW Medicine offers, but like the outdoor activities they can do in Juneau.

“As Juneau and Southeast Alaska’s tourism industry have grown, our medevac resources have evolved and expanded. We upgraded to a Lear 45XR, which is faster and can carry more fuel. This allows us to do long range flights and gives us a better chance of returning to service in inclement weather. We also added a Pilatus PC12 turboprop to our Juneau base during the peak tourism season. This aircraft can hold two patients and bariatric patients. It also allows us to service the communities with shorter runways like Skagway and Hoonah. Since we operate on a first call first, serve basis (i.e., no aircraft is reserved for any person, industry, or community) this additional aircraft benefits everyone!”

-Elise Blasco, Alaska Regional Manager