LifeFlight of Maine is one of our state’s most critical lifelines. Every day, helicopters deliver patients from rural towns and small community hospitals to larger medical centers, saving lives that would otherwise be lost to distance and time.

Two health systems — Northern Light Health and Central Maine Healthcare — not only founded LifeFlight but also continue to shoulder the ownership and financial responsibility of keeping it flying. Both are facing serious financial challenges, yet they remain committed to this statewide resource.

Meanwhile, Maine Medical Center and its parent system, MaineHealth, benefit enormously. The majority of LifeFlight’s patients are delivered to Portland for trauma and specialty services. That translates directly into patient volume and revenue. Maine Medical has built its helipad and contributed some funds, but nowhere near the scale of its benefit.

It is time to be honest: Maine Medical Center is slacking. It cannot continue to be the primary beneficiary of LifeFlight without stepping up to share the financial load. Northern Light and Central Maine should not be carrying this burden alone while Portland reaps the rewards.

If LifeFlight is truly a statewide service — and it is — then Maine’s largest hospital system must step up and match its responsibility to the benefit it receives. Maine’s patients deserve better.

Keith Henderson, DO

Rome