May 1, 2014 - Twenty-four Seven

The Art Deco styled Pacific Tower on Seattle's Beacon Hill and Mount Rainier as viewed through the tail rotor of an Airlift Northwest Eurocopter EC-135 at Harborview Medical Center.  Better known as the Pacific Medical Building, the 16-story Art Deco building opened as a Marine Hospital in 1933.

Airlift Northwest is a non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Washington that provides emergency medical transportation throughout Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.  Dr. Michael Copass founded Airlift Northwest in 1982.  They make over 3200 medical transports a year, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Earlier this Spring their helicopters transported 5 survivors of the Oso landslide to region hospitals.  The first victim airlifted by Airlift Northwest was an infant that was brought to this landing pad at Harborview Medical Center.

Pictured here are two of their Eurocopter EC-135s - N139AM and N954AL.  The EC-135 has been in service with police and ambulance services around the globe since 1996.  In 2013 it was reported that the EC-135 was providing a quarter of the world's civilian emergency medical services flights.   

January 21, 2010 - Airlift Northwest

An Airlift Northwest Eurocopter EC-135T touches down at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center (Not Seattle Grace!) with an emergency airlift. In the background one can see Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. Airlift Northwest is a non-profit organization providing air medical transport for Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Founder, Dr. Michael Copass currently serves as President and Medical Director. He is widely renowned for his contributions to the field of emergency medicine and developed one of the top trauma centers in the world at Harborview. He served as the Director of Emergency Services there from 1973 until 2008.