New hangar showcases Life Flight Network’s commitment to serving Grays Harbor

Life Flight Network is a vital part of the emergency patient care network

By Andrea Watts The Daily World • October 7, 2025 1:30 am
During the hangar opening celebration on Oct. 3, Ben Clayton, CEO of Life Flight Network, said that “to all of our EMS, fire, and law enforcement hospital partners, this space is a commitment to meet you with speed and reliability. To our community, it’s a promise we will be there when you need us. And to our crews, who are now out on a patient transport, it’s your home base.”
During the hangar opening celebration on Oct. 3, Ben Clayton, CEO of Life Flight Network, said that “to all of our EMS, fire, and law enforcement hospital partners, this space is a commitment to meet you with speed and reliability. To our community, it’s a promise we will be there when you need us. And to our crews, who are now out on a patient transport, it’s your home base.”

When Life Flight Network opened their base in June 2023 at Bowerman Airport in Hoquiam, they leased hangar space. A little over two years later, on Oct. 3, they hosted a celebration of a brand-new hangar that is customized for their operations and can accommodate a medevac helicopter and fixed wing airplane.

“We’re really, really proud of the structure, and it really represents our long-term investment in the Grays Harbor community and our commitment to being here for the long haul,” said Natalie Hannah, Life Flight Network’s public relations manager.

In his welcoming remarks, CEO Ben Clayton said that although the hangar is a physical space and structure, “in reality, it represents something else entirely, and that’s time. It’s time that we can give back to our patients, to their families, and to their communities. Because in our line of work, minutes really do matter. And the logistical support for our aircraft is what matters to keep them in service. And a hangar like this is what makes that happen.”

And in a demonstration of the time that Life Flight Network provides to patients and support to local partners, their medevac helicopter and crew was called into service when a Hoquiam Fire Department pulled around behind the hangar with a patient that needed transported, just as had occurred at Life Flight Network’s grand-opening ceremony in 2023.

Attendees of the hangar celebration had the opportunity to see Life Flight’s crew in action, because the Hoquiam Fire Department had a patient who needed to be transported.

Attendees of the hangar celebration had the opportunity to see Life Flight’s crew in action, because the Hoquiam Fire Department had a patient who needed to be transported.

Attendees of the hangar celebration had the opportunity to see Life Flight’s crew in action, because the Hoquiam Fire Department had a patient who needed to be medevac’d. (Andrea Watts / The Daily World)

Attendees of the hangar celebration had the opportunity to see Life Flight’s crew in action, because the Hoquiam Fire Department had a patient who needed to be medevac’d. (Andrea Watts / The Daily World)

Life Flight Network is a “not-for-profit patient transport service providing helicopter, fixed-wing, and ground ambulance transport.” They serve five states – Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Hawai’i – and there are 13 bases in Washington, one of which is at Bowerman Airport in Hoquiam.

Life Flight Network is a “not-for-profit patient transport service providing helicopter, fixed-wing, and ground ambulance transport.” They serve five states – Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Hawai’i – and there are 13 bases in Washington, one of which is at Bowerman Airport in Hoquiam.

Attendees of the hangar celebration had the opportunity to see Life Flight’s crew in action, because the Hoquiam Fire Department had a patient who required emergency services.

Attendees of the hangar celebration had the opportunity to see Life Flight’s crew in action, because the Hoquiam Fire Department had a patient who required emergency services.