Insurance vs Membership.. READ before you sign!

[unknown]

Folk's this was my response on another forum in light of what we do in rural america I wanted to share here. To many just don't understad why we do what we do, or how.

Memberships and Insurance, two different things. When people get the mind set that they are purchasing an Insurance program, they need to read the brochure before they sign it. Memberships are just that, to be a member of an air ambulance program. The memberships do more than just provide a “Free Ride”. A membership program provides a medical helicopter to a rural area like BFE USA where it is 3+ hours to definitive care and most of the population is poverty level at best. Is it fair for those people to not have a higher level of care at there fingertips? For a nominal fee of, Oh lets just take a stab, $65.00 Dollars a year, ALL family members that legally reside at that residence would be provided with air transport for injuries or illnesses that are LIFE or LIMB threatening or that would lead to permanent disability. The more members the more funds to keep these lifesaving helicopter crews in the RURAL BFE USA areas that they are needed in.

Flights for patients going BACK to a nursing home?! Never should happen membership or not and that is a practice that makes the good programs look horribly bad! Air Ambulance services should not be abused. Life or Limb threatening or that would lead to permanent disabilities. Valuable resources are being wasted EVERY day by ER doctors and ground crews because they don’t want a patient to die in their ER or they don’t want to travel 3 hours by ground with a patient on the vent, only to drive 3 hours back to the service area.

So many variables play into the Membership program that is not all bad on the Flight Program’s behalf. Yes there will be days where the weather is inclement, or the resources are not available.

Downsize the FLEET? Medical Helicopter every 50m in Mississippi? Man I don’t know where you get your facts from but allow me to help you out here a little.

Mississipi: Starkville might have a helicopter in that area, Tupelo has N MS Air and Jackson has Air Care, Air Evac has Batesville and Corinth, along with 2 in Alabama that are close enough to fly in, one in Arkansas that is able to fly in. Wing can fly in out of Memphis area. Don’t know what's down in the Delta or southern area but do the math. That’s not very many and certainly not one for every 50 miles.

Arkansas:

Eagle Med = 2 helicopters Rogers and—well ok now just 1 Russelville closed!

Medflight = 1 Baptist in Little Rock

Angelflight = at least 1 maybe 2 Childrens in Little Rock.

Wing In Memphis Tn: 1 that is avalible out of Memphis Area to fly into Arkansas

Air Evac: 8 in state, 3 that are close enough to fly into for mutal aid

Jonesboro, Springdale, Mountain Home, Paris, Vilonia, Harrison, Marianna, De Queen, West Plains, MO, Poplar Bluff Mo, Batesville MS.

Ok with that said, think about this. Clear Blue 22 day in rural Arkansas. Folks out on those motorcycles and atv’s (no helmet law in AR) out hiking in those beautiful Mountains and hills, rafting on the many rivers, fishing on the many many lakes.

12 flight request 8 for trauma (head injury or partial amputation ect) 4 medical (AMI, CVA, Aneurysm and GI Bleed) all calls being placed in a total of 25 minutes. Ok well we know that Air Evac has 8, Eaglemed can cover 1, pull Wing over from Memphis for another, Childrens wont fly none of them are pediatric, Medflight is down for routine maintenance, so lets pull from the Neighboring states for the other 3.

Did I mention that it has only been 25 minutes? OH CRAP! My phone is still ringing! So sorry, I DON’T have a helicopter for you. I am sorry that you are 3.5 hours from Little rock with that CVA patient on the VENT ( oh what’s that- you have NO NEURO today?) and your ONLY ALS crew will be out of pocket for the day on this transfer!

I face this EVERY day I work and I know for others it is just as frustriating. I have seen the membership program work, and I have seen it being abused. It is only as good as the EMS world as a whole working together to use it as it should be.

I embrace what I do and I believe in the company I work for. We do offer memberships and we always are turning down flights due to, not enough air craft.

Just my four cents.

[JPINFV]

It would kinda of help if we had some sort of inkling (maybe even a link) of what the inital post in that thread was about.