KALISPELL — For nearly 50 years, the ALERT helicopter has been a lifeline for people in the Flathead Valley and beyond. Now, Logan Health is looking to add a larger aircraft but they need the community's help to make it happen.
Since 1975, ALERT has responded to emergencies across Flathead County, reaching patients no matter how remote the location. But the current helicopter has limitations that affect the care crews can provide.
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James Allen, ALERT director of operations, said the existing aircraft restricts what medical staff can do once a patient is on board.
"Currently, there are a lot of the interventions medically that have to happen outside of the helicopter, because once that patient is inside the helicopter, we do not have the capability to provide care to the patients anymore," Allen said.
A larger helicopter would give crews the space needed to treat patients during flight.
"By going to a larger air-frame, it now allows 360-degree access in flight. How does that translates to speed? We can quickly get into a scene, we can quickly assess the patient, and then get the patient inside the helicopter and start to provide those interventions on the way to that higher level of care" Allen said.
In April, the Logan Health Foundation hosted its 48th annual ALERT Banquet to fund that upgrade. The community raised a record-breaking $750,000 at the event.
Carly St. Onge, Logan Health Foundation chief development officer, said the response reflected the community's longstanding commitment to the program.
"It really speaks to how this community has always supported ALERT, for many years. When we gave them a call and said this is what we're needing for the next generation, the folks in the room stood up and were ready to support," St. Onge said.
The foundation says about $1.5 million is still needed to complete the upgrade. St. Onge said the program's history of community funding is part of what makes this moment significant.
"ALERT has been community funded since the very beginning, and generations before us have done the same and continued to keep this valuable service in our community and supporting our rural area, and so this is really our generation's turn," St. Onge said.
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