New Leadership Team Named at Intermountain Life Flight Medical Air Transport Program

Pam Moore, RN, is the executive director of Life Flight, and Bill Beninati, MD, is the new medical director of adult services. They replace Jerry Moore, RN, and Frank Thomas, MD, respectively, who retired from their roles earlier this year. 

Life Flight is the medical air transport and rescue program for Intermountain Healthcare. 

“We’re thrilled to have Pam and Bill in these roles,” says Nan Nicponski, operations officer at Intermountain Medical Center. “They’re skilled and experienced as clinicians and leaders, and they’re passionate supporters of our Life Flight program. Life Flight has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest, safest, most advanced medical transport programs in the country. Pam and Bill will help us build on that foundation.” 

Moore will oversee all aspects of the Life Flight operation, including clinical, aviation, and communications. She previously served as Life Flight’s nursing director for several years, and before that was nurse manager for the program’s Children’s Service group. She’s been a nurse at Intermountain Healthcare since 1976 and a member of the Life Flight team since 1979. 

Moore earned a BSN from BYU-Idaho and will complete an MBA from Western Governors University this summer. She’s served on a number of state and national advisory boards and was named Emergency Nurse of the Year by the Utah Health Department’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services.  

Dr. Beninanti will provide medical direction for adult patients served by Life Flight’s crews. His new role will supplement two additional positions: medical director of tele-critical care medicine for Intermountain Healthcare and medical director of respiratory therapy for Intermountain's Salt Lake Valley hospitals. 

He’s practiced pulmonary and critical care medicine for 25 years, including the past five years at LDS Hospital. He is also a retired Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He provided clinical leadership for the Air Force’s critical care air transport program for 13 years and served as Medical Operations Group Commander. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and earned his medical degree at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He’s active in medical education and research and is involved in numerous professional societies. In 2009 he received the American Hospital Association’s Federal Healthcare Executive Award of Excellence and was named a “Healthcare Hero” in 2013 by Utah Business magazine.

Intermountain Life Flight began service on July 6, 1978, the seventh air medical transport program in the U.S. and has transported 52,546 patients since the program began. Life Flight has flown nearly seven million patient-related miles; 53 percent of all transports are children; 26 percent of all Life Flight patients are in a fixed wing aircraft (airplane); 30 percent of helicopter flights are to scene locations. 

Life Flight is the first and only civilian air ambulance organization in the United States certified by the FAA to conduct hoist rescue operations. The first patient hoist was done on May 29, 1999. There have been 89 completed hoist missions since then, some with multiple patients. In January 2006 three patients, three search and rescue members and a 250 pound equipment load was hoisted from Mt. Olympus.