Joshua Stauffer
At a home near Downey, 3 year-old Joshua Stauffer wandered out of sight while his parents were unpacking their car. It was around 5:30 p.m., and the Stauffer family had just arrived from Utah to spend Mother’s Day weekend with Joshua’s maternal grandparents.

Within five minutes the family discovered Joshua missing and began to look for him. After more than an hour of fruitless searching, the frantic family called the police. Soon Search and Rescue teams were combing the area. Temperatures that night fell to below thirty degrees and rain and snow fell early the next morning.

On Saturday, the search had expanded to 180 volunteers. By midday there were still no signs of Joshua. Late Saturday afternoon, tiny tracks were found over four miles away. The searchers could not believe that the child could have traveled that far. Then finally, around 6:30 p.m., Joshua was found unconscious, extremely cold, and breathing weakly. He was located on a ridge about five miles from his grandparent’s home.

The rescuers who found Joshua immediately wrapped him in blankets and lay close to him to share body heat while they waited for Portneuf Medical Center’s LifeFlight helicopter. Even though Joshua had been lost for over 24 hours when he was finally found, the LifeFlight team had been standing by. Flight nurses say the short flight from PMC’s helipad to Joshua was spent planning every vital second of the care and intervention they would give the hypothermic child. By the time LifeFlight transported Joshua to Portneuf Medical Center, the medical flight team had him stabilized and on the way to recovery.


Courtney Wise
Courtney Wise was a skilled 17-year-old high-school rodeo competitor. But all the long hours of training couldn't prepare her for what was about to happen. While waiting "in the box" during a team-roping event, she was thrown from her horse. As she went down, the spooked horse reared up and fell back on her, pinning all of it's weight on the saddle horn in her abdomen. After a decisive call to 911, frightened friends and family waited at the local riding arena for help to arrive. Moments later paramedics rushed Courtney to Portneuf Medical Center.

The trauma team worked quickly to asses the extent of Courtney's injuries. Exploratory surgery confirmed her doctor's fear, Courtney suffered a life-threatening liver laceration and serious blood loss. The only option was immediate transportation to a Level I Trauma Center. Portneuf Medical Center's physicians and nurses worked to stabilize their fragile patient, while the LifeFlight team prepared to transport her to the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake.

The flight took just over an hour. The LifeFlight team monitored Courtney's vital signs, kept her stable and bolstered her spirts until the U of U Shock-Trama Unit took over. Courtney experienced a full recovery.

The role of Portneuf's LifeFlight was summed up by Courtney's mom Peggy, "I have no doubt that LifeFlight, as well as the doctor's wise decision to transport Courtney by air, saved our daughter's life.