Air Idaho Rescue
In a medical emergency, minutes matter. Air Idaho Rescue (A.I.R) is EIRMC's air and ground emergency medical transport service. Because of EIRMC’s premier trauma services, A.I.R. responds to critical illnesses and injuries within a 500-mile radius of the hospital. This area encompasses some of the most rugged, remote, and sparsely populated terrain in the United States, and encompasses the magnificent Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. This isolated and unspoiled wilderness attracts thousands of local residents and visitors every year to hike, ski, raft, climb, fish and hunt, but poses special challenges when someone is seriously ill or injured. Air Idaho Rescue works to provide the most effective backcountry rescue service available anywhere. In a landscape with few roads and no towns, getting help to you, when and where you need it, is our specialty.
And for area residents, we have a number of programs to make our service more quick and cost effective.
A registered nurse and paramedic team cares for patients while in flight. The flight team receives frequent training on a host of invasive procedures and life-saving drug administration and equipment. Dedicated pilots and mechanics round out the team of professionals committed to the safe transport of our patients. Commonly asked questions.
In Action
View a photo slideshow of the Air Idaho Rescue team in action and see our timeline that shows how program has developed since its inception in 1990.
Our Chopper
The Agusta 109K2: Simply the Best Thing Flying
The heart of the Air Idaho Rescue transport system is the Swiss Agusta 109K2 helicopter, which is capable of speeds exceeding 150 miles per hour with a full crew and patient. Specially designed for high-altitude rescues in the Alps, it is perfectly suited for the area’s mountain ranges. Most flights are completed within 90 minutes of the initial call for help.
Our Airplane
The Pilatus PC-12 NG Turboprop: Providing Rapid, Rugged Response
Helicopters have their limitations, weather being one. When the elements prevent our chopper from taking the air, we've got a fixed-wing craft at the ready. A crew of one pilot, one nurse, and a paramedic maintain quarters at the Idaho Falls Airport to provide 24/7 dedicated service and speedy response. With built-in de-icing, superb foul-weather flying capabilities, a 322-mile-per-hour cruising speed, and the ability to land on short, unpaved runways, this craft is perfectly suited to expand the capacities Air Idaho Rescue.
Our Ground Service
Essential and Expedient
Complementing our small air fleet is a critical-care ground service, which transports patients when flying isn’t the best option. The level of care remains the same as that on the aircraft and is both cost effective and efficient. From blistering summer heat to sub-zero winter conditions, the ground service responds throughout the year to allow Air Idaho Rescue to adapt its capabilities to best suit the patient.
Our Crew
Nationally Recognized Excellence
The Air Idaho Rescue crew has been recognized by their industry peers as being among the best in the nation. With a range of specially trained intensive care, NICU, labor and delivery, and flight nurses, paramedics, physicians, pilots, mechanics, and communications specialists, the talented men and women of Air Idaho Rescue are dedicated to saving lives through rapid medical transport.
Air Idaho Rescue is constantly engaged in innovation, advanced training, and the adoption of leading-edge practices such as:
- Development of a fully coordinated air/ground transport system, meaning “single source” care from pick-up to arrival at the hospital’s doors.
- A perfect safety record – one of the few programs in the nation able to make that claim.
- Adoption of new FAA safety recommendations before they were required for the nation at large.
- FAA certification for the use of night vision goggles, allowing Air Idaho Rescue's helicopter crew to fly night missions more safely.
- Development of an innovative rural registry program that results in faster, more effective rescues from remote areas.
- Certification by the Commission on the Accreditation of Medical Transport Services.
A.I.R. is owned and operated by Omniflight Helicopters, Inc.
