Transporting Your Loved One

 

When dealing with a medical emergency that requires rapid response with comprehensive medical care, Air Ambulance transport is the best – and possibly only – recourse. Air Ambulances are fully equipped with comprehensive state-of-the art life support equipment. Additionally, specific special-needs equipment is provided as required by the patient’s physician. More than 20 different types of medications are provided from analgesics to brochodilators, to meet the critical care needs of those who fly with us.

 

Our aero-trained medical staff is directed by Dr. Paul March, who has 25 years experience as a critical care flight doctor. Our staff includes ICU-CCU certified flight nurses, advanced life support critical care flight paramedics, flight respiratory therapists, ICU neonatal and pediatric flight nurses, board-certified emergency medicine flight physicians, cardiologists, neurologists, orthopedists and other specialists. The medical flight team is assembled to directly correspond with the patient’s condition and needs.

 

We offer bedside-to-bedside service, insuring that the patient is cared for and stable during the entire transport process. Our medical crew travels directly to the discharging facility, replaces the facility’s equipment with our equipment (oxygen, IV’s, etc.) and travels with the patient to the air ambulance. There, they accompany the patient on the plane, monitor their condition, make any adjustments necessary, supply oxygen or any needed medications, and generally care for the patient during the duration of the flight. Upon landing, the medical crew rides with the patient in the waiting ambulance and accompanies them to the receiving facility. Once there, they disconnect any of our equipment from the patient and reconnect the patient to the facility’s equipment. They meet with the receiving physician or nurse, report on the patient’s condition and any events that may have occurred during the flight, file a patient report and return to the plane for the trip home.

 

Please see the Medical Qualifications section of this website for specific information about our team’s capabilities, qualifications and protocols.

 

U.S. Air Ambulance also offers Commercial Air Escort Service, an appropriate alternative when the patient is capable of sitting during take-off and landing and has limited need for oxygen. Our nurses and paramedics can travel with a patient who is medically stable and not in need of critical care. Our escorts are aero-trained RNs and paramedics who assist with mobility, medical and hygiene needs. We handle all of the arrangements, from booking first class seats for the patient and the escort, procuring wheelchairs and oxygen when needed, arranging ground transportation if connecting flights are involved, and managing the patient’s medical condition during the flight. We accompany the patient from the discharging facility to the receiving facility or their home.

 

An option that many of our clients are choosing is Medical Escort via Amtrak. The patient is accompanied by one of our highly-trained nurses or paramedics in a sleeper car of an Amtrak train. This is a less expensive alternative to air ambulance, and is appropriate when time is not a critical consideration. The patient travels comfortably, lying down, with all of the amenities of rail travel provided. The nurse or paramedic assists with medications, meals, hygiene, mobility and all other care issues. As with our other transport options, comprehensive and detailed arrangements are handled by our Case Managers and Flight Coordinators.

 

International Commercial Airline Stretcher Service is an option when your loved one becomes ill or injured abroad. The service is a tremendous cost savings over air ambulance, yet still provides the highest level of medical care for the patient. Our Flight Coordinators work directly with the airline to insure that the plane is prepared for the trip. The airline will remove several rows of seating in the back of the plane to allow for a regulation medical stretcher and all necessary medical equipment. Additionally, the U.S. Air Ambulance staff coordinates and manages all aspects of the medical flight, including communication between sending and receiving physicians, ticketing, obtaining visas if necessary, arranging for all ground transportation, clearing the transport with government agencies and scheduling.

 

Long Distance Ground Transportation is yet another option offered by U.S. Air Ambulance. This alternative is especially appropriate when relocating patients across state lines, from one facility to another or to a patient’s home, within a distance that would not be practical for air transport. Our ground ambulances are fully equipped and, as with our other options, staffed with emergency-trained registered nurses and/or critical care paramedics.

 

Limos and Towncars are also sometimes used to escort a patient who is medically stable but who needs some medical assistance.

 

Our Flight Coordinators and Case Managers will discuss all of these options with you, to determine the most medically-appropriate and cost-effective way to transport your loved one.