Flight for Life Says Demand for Helicopter Rescues Higher Than Ever

Celebrating a fifty-year history in 2022, Flight for Life — the nation’s oldest civilian emergency air ambulance program — is still managing to stay busy in its home state of Colorado.

Population growth and a bustling tourism industry have led to an increase in rescues for the Centura Health critical care transport program, with flight crews saying that demand for the helicopter service is higher than ever right now.

Kathleen Mayer, the director of Flight for Life Colorado, tells Westword that the program has seen above-average injury rates over the past two ski seasons, and with the thick of summer ahead, rescuers expect one of the busiest years on record. 

“We have climbers, we have ATV-ers, we have hikers that fall — all kinds of different things,” Mayer says of the typical…