Why We're Different

A history we’re proud of

In 1949 many Southern Oregon residents witnessed their neighbors, friends, and family become paralyzed or die from polio. Our founder, George Milligan, and many other Southern Oregon residents lived in fear for themselves and their neighbors. An alarming number of people who fell ill couldn’t get to advanced medical care quickly enough. After a tremendous effort and community coordination by our founder, Mercy Flights emerged as the nation’s first civil air ambulance service.

For a cause not a profit

As health care costs remain on the rise, Mercy Flights continues to operate as a nonprofit medical treatment and transport organization.  Even though we receive zero tax dollars, we have worked hard to provide our communities with top notch care at a reasonable cost.  Not only are our fees for services significantly lower than most for-profit air services, our membership program is designed to help offset out-of-pocket expenses that a patient would normally be required to pay.

The right transport

Fixed wing, helicopter, ground ambulance—each one provides advanced life support and intense care and safety.

Mercy Flights operates 1 helicopter, 3 fixed-wing aircraft and 24 ground transport ambulances. Not only does our fleet meet community needs, it gives us the flexibility to send the right transport to the right patient at the right time.

Many of our transports are inter-hospital. In fact, we put over 250,000 miles on our ground ambulances every year taking patients between hospitals so they receive the care they need.