Restaurateur and L.L. Bean heir Linda Bean has donated $3 million to LifeFlight of Maine, a medical helicopter service that provides emergency care and transport to remote parts of the state, the Portland Press Herald reports.

The gift to the LifeFlight Foundation will help fund the addition of a third helicopter to the organization's fleet, enhancing its ability to extend emergency medical care to islands, remote fishing communities, and areas of the state where transport via land-based ambulance is subject to delays. With the gift, LifeFlight has raised about half of the $6.5 million cost of the helicopter and medical equipment needed to provide the level of care available in a typical hospital intensive care unit.

"Maine's natural resource industries, like fishing, farming, and forestry, have inherent dangers," Bean said in a statement. "And many of our coastal fishing families live on remote islands like Frenchboro, Vinalhaven, Monhegan, and Matinicus. When time is of the essence and a person is in trouble, LifeFlight is there with on-board emergency medical equipment and technology that saves many precious lives."