Memorial Hermann Life Flight is a critical care air medical transport service based in Houston, Texas. We serve the community within a 150-mile radius of the Texas Medical Center with helicopters and worldwide using fixed-wing transport.
We are the only hospital-based air ambulance serving Houston and surrounding communities. Founded in 1976 by James “Red” Duke, M.D. the service operates around the clock – weather permitting – 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Crews perform more than 3,000 missions each year, making the John S. Dunn Helistop one of the busiest helipads in the world. Since its inaugural flight, Memorial Hermann Life Flight has flown more than 140,000 missions. Learn about the program’s history.
This critical air ambulance service, which is committed to excellence in aviation safety and clinical care, retrieves critically ill and injured patients in the greater Houston area. Most locations are accessible in less than 15 minutes, within a 150-mile radius of Houston, including Harris County, southeast Texas and part of western Louisiana.
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS), Life Flight is Houston’s only hospital-based air medical service. Each flight is staffed by highly skilled personnel and equipped advanced emergency equipment and necessary medications, and can transport up to two patients. Learn about the program’s accomplishments.
The Memorial Hermann Life Flight staff consists of 21 pilots, 21 flight nurses, 18 paramedics/dispatchers and eight mechanics. Each helicopter is inspected and serviced daily.
Provided as a community service by Memorial Hermann, Life Flight operates as a hospital-based, non-profit organization and relies on community support and fundraising efforts to pay for the service. It costs about $15 million annually to support the program, none of which comes from tax dollars.