Frequently Asked Questions

An air ambulance is a business class aircraft that has been specially equipped with a flight stretcher, advanced life support equipment, medications and a highly trained medical staff. U.S. Air Ambulance uses Gulfstream, Lear Jet, King Air and Cessna planes to fly our patients from one medical facility to another.

Yes, we are a licensed air ambulance operator, and we are also a patient transport company in that we provide medical escorts, airline stretcher transports for international flights, and ground and rail transports throughout the United States and Europe. Unlike charter companies, we focus only on medical transports.

Here are just a few reasons why U.S. Air Ambulance is best for your needs:

• We are one of the largest and most experienced air ambulance companies in the world.
• We have been in business since 1990 and have safely transported over 97,000 patients.
• We have a 100 percent safety record.
• Our dedicated full time staff is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help you. Very few of our competitors have that accessibility and availability.
• We can transport the most critical patients from neonatal to trauma and organ transplant cases.
• We offer multiple options in various price ranges to accommodate your budget and will attempt to lower your costs until the very day we do your trip.
• We are licensed and insured.
• With U.S. Air Ambulance, one call does it all. We handle all the details for you.
• We are a preferred provider for the U.S. Department of State.

Yes. We are a complete medical concierge company. You can turn to us with help on finding appropriate facilities, listing a home for sale, selling or moving furniture or automobiles, locating home health care services, pet care, financial and legal advice -- just about anything you would need to help ease the transport of a patient from one location to another.

U.S. Air Ambulance has a 100 percent safety record. We have the highest safety record in the international air ambulance industry.

U.S. Air Ambulance has the medical capability to transport the most acute patients, as well as those who need just a little assistance. Since 1990, we have provided ground, rail and air transport to over 97,000 people, from infants to senior citizens. Our patient transport specialists and medical staff will work with the patient's health care team to determine the most appropriate and cost-effective method of safely transporting your loved one.

If the patient requires extensive or urgent medical assistance, air ambulance is the fastest and safest method of transport. However, we offer lower cost alternatives for some stable patients. These include long-distance ground transportation by ambulance, commercial airline stretcher for international flights, and medical escorts on Amtrak and commercial airlines. Our patient transport specialist will explain those options to you when you call.

U.S. Air Ambulance is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to assist you. Call and a flight coordinator will personally answer your questions.

Yes. We are fully licensed and insured. We also carry medical liability insurance of $1 million and $5 million in aircraft per occurrence and additional business insurance of $1 million per occurrence.

Our corporate offices are in Sarasota, Florida, with additional bases in Tucson, Arizona, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina. We constantly fly patients throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia.

U.S. Air Ambulance flies to all continents except Antarctica. Within the U.S., we travel to hundreds of airports - more than are used by commercial carriers. Chances are excellent that there is an airport within minutes of your location and destination.

Our entire team is dedicated to helping you from the moment you call us. Your primary contact will be one of our patient transport specialists who will work with you directly. He or she will then pass on your information to a case manager, who will call all of the facilities involved to set up an itinerary for your trip. Assisting him or her will be our medical director and chief flight nurse, and our flight operations manager. Once the trip is scheduled, our case manager will coordinate with everyone involved, including the hospitals, doctors, nurses, ambulances, airports, our crew and medical team, and family members.

The best way to explain our process is to walk you through a typical trip.

1. After receiving your call, our patient transport specialist will ask you some questions so we can best understand your personal needs. That information will then relayed to a case manager.
2. Once you are completely comfortable and prepared to use our service, the case manager will confirm the payment arrangements and then call the sending and/or receiving facilities.
3. The case manager gives the information to our medical director, who obtains a full medical report from the attending doctor or hospital. He then determines the type of medical personnel we need to have onboard.
4. Once that's established, our case manager completes setting up the trip and prepares a full itinerary for the family. They will review times and other important information with you, and send you a full itinerary in writing that repeats everything that was discussed.
5. On the day of the transport itself, your patient transport specialist will manage the trip to ensure that everything goes smoothly and will make about 20 calls to everyone in the process. Our medical team will go into the hospital to evaluate the patient and then ride to the plane with the patient in the ambulance.
6. The ambulance drives right up to the aircraft, where we then load the patient and any passengers into the plane and go over safety issues with everyone before taking off.
7. Once we arrive at the receiving airport, another ambulance will be there on the runway waiting to take the crew and patient to the receiving facility.
8. There, we do a direct admission to the patient's bed, reconnecting the patient to the hospital's equipment (if required).
9. We then go over the trip report with the nurses at the hospital prior to departing.
10. Once the nurses are satisfied and take over care of the patient, our team departs.

Yes. That is exactly what we do. We bring loved ones who have been in an accident or have become ill closer to home so that their families can be with them and help them recover.

Yes, that's the purpose of our medical escort service. We will supply a registered nurse for your mother, arrange the medical transport equipment needed, and provide full medical supervision. This is often the least expensive way to travel for many patients.

Our medical staff includes registered nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists and flight physicians. All are highly trained and experienced in medical transport and critical care medicine.

Yes, we have specialized equipment and personnel trained to transport neonates (newborns) and infants safely.

We use a fleet of business class jets including Gulfstream, Lear Jet, King Air, and Cessna aircraft. These planes are modified and equipped for patient care.

We work with most insurance providers and will assist you with billing and payment arrangements. We also offer self-pay options and can provide estimates prior to transport.

We are available 24/7 and can usually arrange for emergency transport on short notice. For non-emergencies, scheduling a few days in advance is recommended to coordinate all logistics.

Yes, as soon as you confirm a trip with us, we will quickly coordinate the timing with the family and both the sending and receiving facilities. We set up all the arrangements: ground transports, coordinating with the facilities, aircraft schedules. We'll then create a written itinerary for you that can be sent by fax, email or regular mail - whatever you choose - and then our flight coordinator will review the itinerary in detail with family members on the phone.

Yes. Our nurse will arrange to have the luggage transferred by the ground ambulance to our aircraft. Due to the nature of an air ambulance, space is very limited. We recommend one carry-on per person.

One family member can ride in the front of the ambulance. Because of ground ambulance rules, passengers cannot ride in the back. If there is more than one passenger, we can assist by setting up a cab for you, which will follow the ambulance right to the plane. Two people can ride in the air ambulance. Pets are allowed on the plane but not in the ground ambulance, so other arrangements must be made to get the pet to the airport.

Yes. Our case managers will typically call you when we land prior to arriving at the sending hospital and prior to arrival at the receiving hospital. If you want more frequent updates, just let us know and we will be happy to fulfill your requests.

U.S. Air Ambulance provides a comprehensive bedside to bedside service, which means that the ambulance will come to pick up the patient. Our flight crew will be on that ambulance and will go into the facility, switch your patient onto our medical equipment, put him right onto the ambulance stretcher and then take him out to the aircraft. Then we reverse the process after landing, taking the patient directly to the bedside they are assigned and connecting him to that facility's equipment. This ensures continuity of care while helping the patient feel more relaxed with only one person to solve their needs and to act as a companion.

Yes, we can put our crew and equipment on your Gulfstream and fly with your patient. If the patient doesn't require advanced life support and can sit in the aircraft, our team will assist the patient with basic life support equipment and hygiene functions. If the patient requires lying down during the trip, accommodations should be made to secure the patient. If equipment is required, we will work with you to ensure that proper connections for power and oxygen are in place prior to the trip.

Unless otherwise directed, we include ground transportation from the sending hospital to the airport and from the airport to the receiving hospital (bedside to bedside) as part of our package of services. Depending on the medical needs of the patient, we can provide advanced life support ground ambulance, wheelchair van or stretcher van. In some instances we might even use a limousine or town car upon a family's request. Our nurses will travel with the patient and will bring our equipment to ensure the patient's safety. In addition, our customer service team monitors the progress of the transportation to ensure they arrive on time and that any needs are quickly met.

Most of our patients and families find it much easier to let us take care of that burden for them. All costs are included in our price so there are no hidden charges. If, however, you wish to arrange the ground transportation, we ask that you give us their contact information so on the day of the trip we can still provide the needed coordination for you.

You can meet us at whichever location is more convenient for you. We will wait for you. If you meet us at the hospital, you have the option of riding along in the ambulance as long as there are no pets accompanying you. If you want to meet us at the airport, we'll give you the address and phone number of the FBO so you can make those arrangements.

FBO stands for Fixed Base Operator. It's a refueling station for private aircraft, and is usually located on the opposite side of the runways from the main commercial terminals. The planes fly directly into and out of the location without waiting in commercial flight traffic. The ambulance pulls up right next to the airplane so the patient can be easily loaded and unloaded.

We can; that's not a problem. Our typical trip goes directly to the patient, but if you prefer we can arrange for our plane to start at your airport and fly from there to pick up the patient. The aircraft and crew are at your disposal, so we can create a trip that is customized to your needs.

We are a licensed operator under the direction of Dr. Roque Rodriguez, our medical director, and Chris Carter, our chief flight nurse, as well as full- and part-time medical, flight and maintenance crews. We staff our corporate office 24 hours a day and operate out of several other cities throughout the United States. We have safely transferred over 97,000 patients without an accident. We have excellent credentials.

Unlike the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which is an independent accrediting organization for hospitals, no truly independent organization for accrediting fixed wing aircraft yet exists. CAMTS (Commission of Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems) is basically a group of air ambulance companies that have tried to set standards, but they are not widely accepted. Therefore, the vast majority of air ambulances, including our company, have chosen not to participate in CAMTS.

However, we do participate in other organizations including the Air Medical Physicians Association (AMPA), the North American Ambulance Alliance (N3A), the Aerospace Medical Association (ASMA), the Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association (ASTNA), the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), the American Association of Respiratory Care (AARC), the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Association of Air Medical Communication Specialists (NAACS), the National EMS Pilots Association (NEMSPA) and the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP).

We are licensed and regulated by the State of Florida Health Department, the strictest in the nation, and consistently receive an "Exemplary" rating on the site survey performed by that agency.

The first thing to do is to decide on a receiving physician and facility. We can help you if you are uncertain about the best choices. Second, decide on the trip date and the time you want the patient to be picked up. Again, we can help by offering options if your travel time is flexible. We will request the following basic information: departure and arrival destinations, medical information and method of payment. U.S. Air Ambulance does everything else - scheduling aircraft and ground transportation, arranging for the medical team, coordinating medical facilities, managing your flights and submitting your insurance claim. We provide a worry-free transport.

If traveling by plane, you will also need a photo ID for the patient and anyone traveling with him or her. If flying internationally, all passengers are required to have a passport and any applicable visas.

Once you give us the information, everything else regarding the transfer is in our hands. If you haven't yet arranged for a receiving doctor and facility, you'll need to do that. If you need assistance, we can help. We really try to take the stress out of the entire situation for you.

Some of our clients must fly within hours and we can certainly accommodate short notice trips. However, it is best to give us at least 24 hours notice if possible. Doctor consultations must sometimes be flexible to your attending doctor's needs, and more notice can sometimes substantially reduce your cost. Our flight coordinators can provide the details.

You'll need to decide on the facility and then a physician there who will be assigned to the patient and will coordinate with admissions to accept him or her. If you need help in doing that, we can assist.

As you might expect, the cost of medical transportation is fairly expensive. U.S. Air Ambulance is committed to providing the lowest price possible without compromising patient care. The pricing section on this website discusses pricing examples, rate schedules and several money-saving options for your transport.

With a quick call to 1-800-633-5384, we can provide a no-obligation, guaranteed price quote to you.

Yes. Ground transportation and all other costs are included unless specifically omitted by customer request. We will provide you with a written quote. To accurately compare pricing, we encourage you to request written quotes from other vendors before making your decision.

We accept money orders, bank wire drafts, cashier's checks, personal checks (in some instances), cash, all major credit cards, and letters of guarantee from insurance companies.

Yes, we arrange commercial airline stretcher service, available only for international flights. We coordinate with the airline to remove six to eight seats in the rear of the aircraft and install a stretcher for you. We'll provide one or two of our nurses to accompany the patient on the flight.

All of our costs are included within our price: ambulance transport, the cost of the medical crew, all of the equipment and medications, and the flight itself. Any changes to costs that might occur as a result of changing patient conditions (such as an upgrade to a ground ambulance from a wheelchair van) would be made prior to transport and with the full knowledge of the customer.

There are other alternatives that are generally less expensive:

• Medical escort on Amtrak: special needs sleeper car with medical personnel.
• Long-range ground transport with two drivers and medical staff.
• Commercial flight with a medical escort in first class.
• Commercial airline stretcher service for international flights.

In all cases, we provide ground transportation, medications, life support equipment, and prescribed medications.

We offer a discount with our "backhaul" service. If a patient flies from Tampa to St. Louis and we have a trip already booked from St. Louis to Tampa, both patients save by essentially buying one-way trips instead of round trips. This requires flexibility but can substantially reduce costs.

We explore every option to ensure the most appropriate travel for your patient's needs. Choosing different aircraft types (e.g., turbo-prop or twin-engine instead of Gulfstream or Learjet) can reduce cost. Flexibility in scheduling also helps. Critical patients should use the fastest jets.

Charities are limited in what they can do for air ambulance patients. If you need highly reduced rates, we can try to help through less expensive options.

There is no extra charge for oxygen. Air ambulances come medically equipped with advanced life support equipment. Medications, medical staff, and ground transportation on both sides are also included at no extra charge.

No additional cost. We fly 24/7 and coordinate flight schedules around your preferred time. Sometimes, costs may even be reduced by connecting your flight with others.

It does not change the price at all. There is no charge for an additional passenger, and sometimes we can take two passengers.

We do not offer additional discounts for AARP. However, we always quote the lowest possible cost for the patient's needs and explain all available options to find the most reasonable alternative.

Yes. You can provide multiple credit cards to guarantee the trip. Families often share costs. After specifying how much to charge each card, we authorize prior to the trip and charge after successful completion.

Yes, you can pay after the flight by wire transfer or check. However, the trip must be guaranteed with a credit card beforehand. If you send funds within 48 hours of trip completion, your card won't be charged and authorization will be released.

We accept financing via one or more credit cards and require a guarantee of payment prior to the trip.

No. Authorizing ensures funds are available and lets us charge the card after the trip is completed.

Consider company history, medical staff qualifications, inclusions in the quote, equipment, and aircraft type. We work to ensure the highest quality at the lowest possible price. Always get written quotes detailing services, equipment, staff qualifications, ground transportation, and licenses. U.S. Air Ambulance will meet or beat a written estimate from an accredited and licensed company.

Air ambulance can be cheaper than charter because charter flights are taxable, often more than the cost of nurses on a medical flight. Charter does not offer medical personnel, equipment, facility coordination, ground transportation, or communication services we provide.

Typically, we quote a one-way price. However, we can customize your trip. Sometimes round trip costs may be only slightly more, e.g., if the plane and crew wait at the destination to bring the patient back.

About one-third of clients have insurance coverage. Medical necessity usually must be shown. Medicaid sometimes covers air ambulance; Medicare and Medicare gap insurances generally do not. Our insurance specialists assist with prior authorizations, claims, and follow-up.

We work with major insurers such as Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Aetna, AIG, and many others. We accept their letter of guarantee. You're responsible only for amounts not covered.

Yes. After the trip, our claims personnel assist you with reimbursement, submitting paperwork, and cutting through red tape. Providing all necessary info before the trip helps speed up claims processing.

Our medical team starts and finishes the entire journey with the patient, arriving at the bedside to assess and comfort the patient, traveling by ambulance to the airplane, and escorting the patient to the receiving facility's room, ensuring continuity of care and communication with the receiving nurse.

At a minimum, all air ambulance trips require a critical care paramedic. U.S. Air Ambulance's standard of care is one critical care paramedic and one critical care registered nurse. When necessary, we provide respiratory therapists, nurse practitioners, and physicians. Our medical personnel have a minimum of five years of care experience and extensive training in flight physiology and air ambulance protocol.

A partial list of supplies and equipment includes oxygen, ventilator, cardiac monitor/defibrillator, suction equipment, full ACLS drug complement, IV supplies, resuscitation equipment, FAA approved stretchers, AC inverters and much more. See the medical section of this website for a more comprehensive list of equipment and medications, as well as our medical transport protocol.

Dr. Roque Rodriguez, U.S. Air Ambulance's medical director, enforces strict protocols that exceed national standards. He will personally review your patient's case and provide specific protocols for your patient.

We typically outfit the aircraft with two aero-medical specialists on each trip, but we will send critical care nurses or paramedics, respiratory therapists, and doctors as required by the patient's medical condition.

Our nurses and paramedics must have at least five years of experience either in ER or first response to trauma before we hire them. They also go through training to become air certified prior to flying. Additionally, they fly with a preceptor (an advanced-level teacher) before managing patient care. We have ongoing training in protocols and patient care as well as quality review of each trip.

For your peace of mind, and when needed due to the patient's condition, we can supply one of our aero-medical doctors onboard. However, our doctors are not normally required because our RNs and paramedics are highly qualified to deal with all types of patient care, including emergency situations. Our medical director, Dr. Roque Rodriguez, is available 24 hours per day to assist the flight crew if necessary.

Yes. Our aircraft is supplied with an array of advanced life support medications that can be used to safely transport the patient. We get the medical report so our nurses know what medications the patient is taking and can administer them during the flight as needed.

Such occurrences are rare because our medical team monitors and adjusts the patient's condition for safe transport. If an emergency occurs that cannot be stabilized, we would request an emergency landing at the nearest airport, coordinate an emergency ground ambulance, and immediately notify family or case workers.

After obtaining a medical report, we know the patient's medications. If we carry those medications, we will manage them during the flight. If not, we will obtain the medications from the attending doctor at the sending facility and administer them en route.

It is part of our protocol to have two medical personnel on most flights. After reviewing the medical report, if our chief flight nurse and medical director conclude only one nurse is required, we may schedule just one nurse and pass the savings on to the client.

Your mother is welcome to accompany the patient, but she cannot assist our medical personnel. Our team operates under strict protocols and specialized training, is insured, and has full responsibility for the patient during transport to ensure quick, professional care in emergencies.

If lying down is her most comfortable position, we can accommodate that with a medically equipped stretcher that works like a narrow hospital bed. It can be positioned flat or at an incline, with pillows for added comfort.

There are four types of hospital releases:

• General discharge
• Discharge to equal or greater care facility
• Discharge to step-down facility
• Discharge against medical advice (AMA)

Coordination between sending and receiving doctors and admissions is required. We assist in facilitating communication. AMA transports require prior acceptance and bed assignment by the receiving facility.

She may not need all the equipment, but it is there in case she does, which is comforting.

Yes. If our medical director deems the patient safe for transport, we can transport AMA. The patient must be going to a facility that provides at least the same level of care. We can assist with scheduling the receiving facility.

Absolutely. We honor any properly completed Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders. We send a copy to our medical director for review to ensure it meets transport requirements. If necessary, our medical director can complete a compliant DNR for you prior to the trip.

If more than 24 hours before the trip, there are no charges to delay due to instability. Within 24 hours, cancellation charges may apply but can be applied to a later flight. If the patient passes away shortly before the trip and aircraft has been repositioned, only actual costs incurred are charged.

Although rare, if a patient passes away during the trip, we make every effort to complete the transport and notify authorities en route to arrange for pronouncement upon arrival.

Yes. Patients requiring high oxygen are good candidates for air ambulance. We monitor oxygen saturation closely and provide 100% supplemental oxygen as needed. We can fly at lower altitudes if required to maintain oxygen levels for safety.

We can escort patients requiring oxygen on commercial flights with a nurse escort, but there are limitations. Airlines typically provide up to 4 liters per minute with a doctor's prescription and medical escort. Patients using more than 2.5 liters on the ground may not qualify. Our nurse monitors oxygen levels during the trip, and we arrange oxygen supply at connections and airports to ensure continuity.

Yes. Pregnancy cases are very specialized requiring special neonate teams and equipment. Our medical team will work closely with the family to ensure a safe transport.

Premature infants have special needs during ambulance flights that require the use of neonate teams and equipment including isolettes. Our special team has extensive experience with preemies and they will know exactly how to care for your child.

Yes. For vent patients, we add a critical care nurse and respiratory therapist specially trained to manage the ventilator to the medical crew. We have a ventilator and all ancillary equipment on board the aircraft, along with other advanced life support equipment. The medical team will assess your vented patient prior to the trip, switch her to the transport equipment, and stabilize her prior to transport. At the destination, the process is reversed. We also review the trip report with attending nurses regarding vent settings and patient response.

We can transport your brother. We will use a special aircraft because of his weight, and because he's only 5'3", we use an extra-wide stretcher. To get him into the aircraft, we arrange a lift-type system and request additional personnel at both the sending and receiving airports to manage the transfer.

Usually, we prefer to provide blood transfusions before takeoff, so she doesn't need the transfusion on the plane where fluids can already increase blood volume. However, if transfusion en route is necessary, we can manage that with advanced notice.

Patients on a balloon pump require specialized care and equipment. We have the capability to manage this type of patient. Much care and preparation goes into this transport, and it requires advanced notice.

Morphine is one of the many advanced life support medications we carry on board our ambulance aircraft, and we can administer it for him. Because we acquire medical information prior to the trip, we will know about the morphine and any other medications he requires and have all necessary medications on board.