8 | Airlift Northwest
couldn’t be found. Two children died before
transport was secured, and so much time has
passed before help was secured, the third
child died during transport to the hospital.
“It was at that time, Dr. Copass vowed that
such a tragedy should never happen again,”
says Nelson. Dr. Copass ultimately founded
Airlift Northwest by forming an alliance
with a hospital consortium affiliated with
UWMedicine, an internationally esteemed
leader inhealthcarewhich owns (or operates)
Harborview Medical Center, Northwest
Hospital & Medical Center, Valley Medical
Center, University of Washington Medical
Center, the UW School of Medicine, and a
network neighborhood clinic and physician
practices. Withmore than25,000employees,
this enterprise has produced five Nobel Prize
winners, 35 Institute of Medicine members
and more than 30 members of the National
Academy of Science. Collectively, the con-
sortium facilitates some 65,000 admissions
and 1.6 million outpatient and emergency
room visits annually. In addition to provid-
ing patients with the most advanced or latest
findings in medical discovery, diagnoses and
treatments, its physicians also undertake the
research necessary to teach new generations
