Emergency ambulances and non-emergency transport vehicles
A closer look into air ambulance utilisation with John Watson, Founder and CEO of AeroLYFT Transport Solutions
Fixed wing air ambulances; what makes them an ambulance? In the world of air ambulances, this mode of transportation is created with just two modifications. Initially, the empty cabin of the aircraft is stocked with medical equipment with such things as a defibrillator, ventilator, IV pumps, and an onslaught of medications and supplies packed in just a few bags. These aircraft will provide oxygen at a minimum. Lastly, a well-trained and certifiably experienced medical crew will board. That’s it!
Let’s look at emergency ambulances. These vehicles are stocked with their own medical equipment, medications, supplies, and are dually staffed with additional medical providers that are simultaneously responsible for emergency calls for service, while having all the redundancies of an air ambulance.
Much like air ambulances, non-emergency transport vehicles are still certified and licensed to transport a patient on a stretcher and are insured and regulated in the same way an ambulance is. These ground transport units are stocked with on-board oxygen, in-line suction, and are specifically designed to transport air medical crews and their patients, just like an air ambulance, with the addition of their equipment, medications and supplies.
Transport time
But non-emergency medical transport vehicles don’t use lights and sirens! This is true. NEMT vehicles are just that, non-emergency. In a recent review of data collected from three large air ambulance companies over the last five years, true emergency transportation was required in less than two per cent of all fixed-wing air ambulance missions. A study published by the National Library of Medicine (2022), ‘EMS Lights & Sirens’, found that utilisation of lights and sirens saved as little as 42 seconds on average transport time, a diminutive number when contrasting the many hours it often takes an air ambulance to complete its mission. Alternatively, the use of lights and sirens increases the likelihood of a crash by over 50 per cent, and nearly triples the probability of a crash with a patient on board, as evidenced by a joint study from The National Association of EMS Physicians and The National Association of EMS Directors (2022), ‘Joint Statement on Lights & Siren Vehicle Operations on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Responses’.
AeroLYFT Transport Solutions, a non-emergency, air medical ground transport company in the US, offers the industry a new solution for air ambulance ground transport utilisation. In regions where air ambulance ground transports are prevalent, emergency ambulances are spread thin and committed to emergency calls, where fees are outrageously high, and the consistency, reliability and efficiency of these services is extremely low, AeroLYFT provides air crew ground transport that specifically caters to air ambulances and was created by air ambulance crewmembers, themselves, to overcome these challenges.
Unlike an emergency ambulance, these vehicles are designed specifically for air ambulance utilisation, and provide safe, reliable, efficient and affordable, round-trip transport from the airport to their destination, and back to the airport, every time. These units also make room for several additional passengers, pets and luggage.
“Our operational model has shaved nearly 47 per cent off average turn-around times. We save our clients hundreds of thousands of dollars a year...”, said Sean Toris, COO and Director of Operations at AeroLYFT. “Contrasting a private emergency ambulance with two medical providers that don’t understand the basic operation of an air ambulance, its crew or its mission, to that of an experienced flight crewmember operating one of our Air Crew Transport Units has shown to significantly improve the overall safety and efficiency by which ground transports take place.”
Emergency ambulances are seldom on time, will assess additional fees for wait times, cancellations and changes in flight plans, and only offer one-way transportation: “Creating an alternative solution has proven, time and again, that a company like ours caters to the needs of our clients...”, said Jesly Rodriguez, CFO and Director of Finance at AeroLYFT. “By keeping our operational costs low, hiring experienced flight crew, and creating a fee structure inclusive of round-trip services, our model works better for everyone involved!”
So, it begs the question... when do air ambulance crews and their patients require an emergency ambulance? When is a non-emergency transport unit designed specifically for air ambulance utilisation not only appropriate, but the safe, timely, efficient, and affordable option? You decide.