’Copter crew is in new home

About a year after moving to Portland Municipal Airport, Lutheran Air’s pilots and crew have a completed headquarters.
The crew and helicopter have been stationed at the airport since October 2015, but previously operated out of a trailer. Now, their headquarters are built into the hangar that holds the helicopter, and they have office spaces for the crew, pilots and mechanics as well as a communal area with an attached kitchen.
While using the trailer, the team was separated in different rooms. Chief pilot David Miller explained that with the new open layout, the crew is able to spend more time together.
“A lot of bases have been very segmented … the nice thing about our new quarters is that it fosters that team environment so much more, we still have team offices we have to have for FAA regs, but otherwise its one very nice communal area,” Miller said. “Our cohorts that are at other bases, they’re amazed at how nice it is.”
Work started after Muhlenkamp Construction was awarded the contract in May to transform what was once a breezeway into the new headquarters. The price tag for the headquarters was $118,366, and construction was completed in mid-September and the team moved in shortly afterwards.
Representatives from the city and Lutheran are still finalizing how the payment for the facility will be divided.
The headquarters is centered around large living room with a kitchen, and a two adjoining offices for the crew and pilots. The mechanics’ office is inside of the hangar area.
The new headquarters also includes a medical storage area that allows them to stock a surplus of medical supplies, including two units of O negative blood that are taken on every flight.
Pat Unger, executive director of transport services for the Lutheran Health Network, credits a smooth move-in process to the flexibility of Portland’s Board of Aviation.
“The airport board has bent over backward to accommodate us. It’s true gem to have that resource in a community this size,” Unger said.
Miller also mentioned how helpful the board has been.
“They’ve been crucial and instrumental to making things go smoothly,” Miller said. “We had to go to Lowe’s and get some additional things, and the board president (John Lyons) lent us his trailer to go get it.”
Lyons is also happy with the completed headquarters.
“I think it’s turned out real well, I’m very pleased with it,” he said. “Lutheran had a major hand in how it was designed.”
Lyons said he is still thrilled with having Lutheran based in Portland.
“I think it’s really a great thing that we’ve got this in our community,” Lyons said. “It’s quite a feather in the community’s cap.”
Lutheran Air I, one of two helicopters operated by the Lutheran Hospital, typically operates in a 75 mile radius, which can be extended up to 150 miles, according to Pat Unger, executive director of transport services for the Lutheran Health Network.
On each flight, the helicopter is crewed by a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic. Crews work 12 hour shifts, switching at 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. each day.
A majority of their flights involve transferring patients from one hospital to another with a higher level of care, though the helicopter will also land on the ground when patients with severe injuries need transport.
Having the helicopter based in Portland has shortened response times for local patients. It can now reach anywhere in Jay County in eight minutes or fewer, whereas previously a flight from Fort Wayne would have taken 15 to 30 minutes depending on weather conditions.