The first rural hospital-based air ambulance program in the country was born out of tragedy 50 years ago near the Hungry Horse Reservoir. In July 1975, a 27-year-old logger named Dennis Buck was severely injured in a workplace accident. His crew worked with a nearby forest service helicopter to form a makeshift rescue operation. Unfortunately, Dennis died before he could reach the hospital, an all-too-common occurrence in the logging industry at the time. Recognizing the need for change, Clyde Smith, co-founder of the Montana Logging Association, put his own logging business up as collateral and worked with Kalispell General Hospital, now Logan Health Medical Center, to form an air-ambulance program to rural workers across northwest Montana. Today, 50 years later, ALERT has evolved into a comprehensive emergency medical transport program. In addition to more than 21,000 helicopter flights in its history, the service now includes a fixed-wing aircraft transport service, a specialty pediatric and neonatal flight nurse team and dedicated ground ambulances…