Children’s Hospital Los Angeles recently renamed its airlift transport program the Alan Purwin Emergency Transport Program to honor Alan Purwin, founder and owner of Helinet, which operates the service. The program, which uses two Sikorsky S-76s to transport critically injured and ill children to the hospital, was a specialproject for Purwin, who lost his life in an airplane crash in Colombia last September.

“Our Children’s Hospital Los Angeles transportation service was so close to Alan’s heart, we knew we needed to maintain it as his legacy,” stated Helinet CEO Steve Gatena. “We are excited about the renaming of the program to reflect his commitment. We will continue to support the hospital as Alan intended with hopes to eventually expand our life-saving services for the hospital with new technology in the near future.”

Along with this project, Helinet Technologies (Booth 3518), which specializes in airborne delivery of imagery for government and commercial clients, continues to look toward the future. The helicopter service provider hired Gatena in July of 2015 to head new technology ventures. President and COO Jonathan Compass waspromoted from general manager shortly after Purwin’s death.