Congratulations to the team at Air Alliance for winning the “Air Ambulance Provider of the Year Award” for the 2nd year running.

During the ceremony at the ITIJ Industry Awards in Geneva, Air Alliance competed against two further finalists and was handed the prestigious award by sponsor Larry Friedman - UC San Diego Health. 

Air Alliance would like to thank all clients and the entire team for their excellent support and great work. 

ABOUT AIR ALLIANCE MEDFLIGHT

Air Alliance Medflight is a 100% subsidiary of the Air Alliance Group, a company that has been successfully serving the market since 1993 in all aspects of aviation. Aircraft sales, air ambulance, aircraft maintenance/development and flight training center are the strategic business units of the company.

To date, Air Alliance runs a fleet of 11 own aircraft (Lear Jet 35, 55 and Challenger 604) They are located in Cologne - Siegerland (near Frankfurt) and Vienna / Austria.

Every year, some 780 missions around the globe and approximately 6,000 flight hours are accomplished. Air Alliance Medflight is specialized in long range flights and in flying to remote areas. On our flights, we propose the full spectrum of care: from basic to advanced life support and critical care with premium medical equipment.

We serve clients from around the globe, including major insurance and assistance companies, governments, hospitals, specialized aviation brokers and private payors

SOS International was the first medical assistance company to take the new generation of flying intensive care units on the Airbus A380 in use on a patient transport on a Lufthansa flight from Johannesburg to Frankfurt.

The Patient Transport Compartment (PTC), a flying intensive care unit, is developed by Lufthansa Tecknik and LH Medical Service and can now also be built into Airbus A380 aircrafts to be used on long-haul routes.

The use of the PTC can be a very cost-effective alternative to ambulance airplanes. Using an intensive care unit when possible instead of an ambulance airplane is often cheaper. Lufthansa has aircrafts specially prepared for these intensive care units and can therefore change flights, when SOS International orders a PTC transport. It is of course only possible for SOS International to make use of these intensive care units when medical and logistic conditions make it possible.

The large airplanes from Lufthansa, i.e. Airbus 380, 340 and 330 and Boing 747, prepared for the PTC, have routes from/to Munich and Frankfurt, so the patients must continue the repatriation with an ambulance airplane from these destinations to the final European destination. The airplane change normally takes place wing-by-wing, i.e. the small ambulance plane is allowed to park close to the very large aircrafts. Although it seems inconvenient to change flight during a trip, this should be compared with ambulance flights having several ground stops for fueling.

Medical Escort Doctor from SOS International Hanns Reich, an anesthesiologist, escorted the patient on the first flight with the Airbus A380 and explains, “it was exciting to be the first to test a new installation together with a PTC-crew member. The ventilator, the infusions pumps, the monitors etc. all functioned as intended. The size of the PTC gives excellent working conditions with the patient placed in the correct height and seats for the escorting crew appropriate placed for monitoring the patient means that we can provide the best possible medical care during the repatriation. The Lufthansa PTC crew-member is fully aware of the conditions of having a patient on board and they know the exact position of all equipment, medicines and other supplies which contributes to a safe repatriation for the patient”.

Air Methods Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tri-State Care Flight (“Tri-State”) for $222.5 million.  Tri-State generated net revenue of $81.5 million for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2014.

The transaction, which was unanimously approved by Air Methods’ Board of Directors, is expected to be immediately accretive to Air Methods’ earnings per share by greater than $0.20 in year one and by greater than $0.30 in year two.  Upon closing, Tri-State will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Methods.

“We are very excited about the acquisition of Tri-State,” said Aaron Todd, chief executive officer of Air Methods. “It represents an opportunity to integrate best practices and further extend Air Methods’ commitment to quality, patient outcomes and safety. We look forward to welcoming Tri-State to the Air Methods team.”

Founded in 2002, Tri-State is a critical care transport provider servicing Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. Tri-State’s primary mission is to rapidly transport critically ill and injured patients for health care facilities and emergency medical services (EMS) agencies while providing the highest level of care available.

Dr. Blake Stamper, founder and managing member of Tri-State, said, “As a global leader in air medical transport services, Air Methods shares our commitment to superior customer service and the  best clinical outcomes for patients in need. By combining with Air Methods, we will be able to serve even more patients across our footprint.  We are confident that this will be a seamless transition for our employees, patients and other stakeholders.”

Air Methods expects to finance the acquisition through its credit facility, which was recently amended in August to provide for additional borrowing capacity. The acquisition is subject to customary closing and regulatory conditions. The transaction is expected to close in 30 to 60 days.

The Company will discuss this transaction during its third quarter earnings conference call, which is scheduled today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Interested parties can access the call by dialing (855) 601-0049 (domestic) or (720) 398-0100 (international) or by accessing the web cast at www.airmethods.com. 

Welcome to the most recent International Private Medical Insurance Magazine exclusive air ambulance medical transportation round table business forum. In this exclusive debate we talk about the international medical transportation sector of the business. With a focus on fleet capabilities, on-board technology, medication and payor-provider relations the round table takes a closer look at the global providers assisting iPMI insurers and insureds.

Exclusive C-Suite executive commentary from FAI, Jet Executive, MedcareProfessional and Tyrol.

As an innovative industry leader, Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance implements a world-class training and development program to ensure every employee is equipped with the necessary tools to excel in his or her job function.

This requires remaining on the cutting edge of technology and education in two ever-evolving industries: aviation and healthcare.

Matt Greenwell, RN, CFRN, NREMT-P, FP-C, Angel MedFlight's Director of Clinical Operations teaches a Flight Physiology training course. He explains how pressure and altitude affect patients and the medical flight crew alike. Everything is measured in pressure and how it affects people differently; a patient is going to react differently at sea level than at 40,000 feet. "It's very important that the patient's history and condition is taken into consideration when the flight coordinators plan the flight," said Greenwell, adding, "Altitude and air density, cabin pressure and the condition of the patient all play a role in coordinating a flight and determining the correct altitude and cabin pressure."

Angel MedFlight's training curriculum is comprised of specialized instruction from each department including aviation, aviation maintenance, safety, operations, flight coordination, medical, quality management, legal, claims, human resources, IT and business development.

Employees are trained to understand the role of each job function and how they integrate; streamlining the overall communication process.

Employee training is an ongoing process; with continuing education requirements. An important part of Angel MedFlight's training program is a course designed for Flight Coordinators. It is imperative for Flight Coordinators to know how flights operate, the medical and technical aspects involved to accurately determine each patient's medical needs.

The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 was adopted at a Maritime session of the International Labour Conference in 2006 and came into force on 20 August 2013. To date, 56 ILO Member States have ratified the Convention, representing more than 80 percent of the world’s gross tonnage of ships.

There are more than 1.5 million seafarers in the world. A majority of these seafarers now have a right to be protected through national laws and practices applying the MLC, 2006 to the ships on which they work. Title 4 of the MLC covers Health Protection, Medical Care, Welfare and Social Security Protection. From August 20th 2013 all vessels over a certain size have to comply with a new labour convention known as the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006.

We hope you enjoy this important round table discussion. 

In A Closed Door Exclusive Round Table Business Forum International Private Medical Insurance Magazine Spoke With Industry Leaders From The International Assistance Market.

The 1st In A Series Of VIP Assistance Round Table Business Forums, we focus on the definition of medical, travel and technical assistance services in 2014 including service capability, geographic reach, memorable cases, custom networks, the benefits of outsourcing and the adoption of new technology.

Featuring C-Level Executive Commentary From Allianz Global Assistance, Athens Assistance, Europ Assistance, Medic Assistance International, REUTER Consulting And Rowland Brothers.

International tourist arrivals grew by 5% in 2013, reaching a record 1,087 million arrivals. Despite the current global economic climate, international tourism results were well above expectations, with an additional 52 million international tourists travelling the world in 2013. For 2014 the UNWTO forecasts 4% to 4.5% growth, above the long term projections. Demand for international tourism was strongest for destinations in Asia and the Pacific (+6%), Africa (+6%) and Europe (+5%). The leading sub-regions were South-East Asia (+10%), Central and Eastern Europe (+7%), Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+6%) and North Africa (+6%). The UNWTO forecasts international arrivals to increase by 4% to 4.5% in 2014, again above its long-term forecast of +3.8% per year between 2010 and 2020.

“2013 was an excellent year for international tourism. The tourism sector has shown a remarkable capacity to adjust to the changing market conditions, fuelling growth and job creation around the world, despite the lingering economic and geopolitical challenges. Indeed, tourism has been among the few sectors generating positive news for many economies.”
Taleb Rifai UNWTO Secretary General

• FirstAssist’s International Assistance business rebrands to Capita Global Assistance

The FirstAssist International Assistance business, which provides worldwide emergency medical assistance to leisure and business travellers, has rebranded to Capita Global Assistance.

 Janette Hiscock, managing director of Capita Global Assistance, said, “We have been part of the Capita group for more than three years and today’s rebranding is a natural step in the progression of our business. “We are proud to be part of the Capita group which gives us access to a wide range of markets and services, and which allows us to further invest in our infrastructure and growth strategy. What doesn’t change, however, is the quality of our people, our continued commitment to innovate and our passion to work closely with our valued business partners."

The business offers a range of services including pre-travel advice and contingency planning, medical case management, medical evacuation/repatriation and access to security advice and assistance. The business was part of the FirstAssist acquisition by Capita in 2010 and sits within the health and wellbeing division. It has around 100 staff, including multilingual doctors, nurses and case managers who deliver travel and medical assistance to a diverse portfolio of travel insurers, corporate clients and charitable organisations.

European Air Ambulance (EAA) is one of the largest air ambulance service providers in Europe offering worldwide air ambulance repatriation with outstanding end-to-end patient care.

EAA founders DRF Luftrettung and Luxembourg Air Ambulance have a combined record of over 45 successful years of experience in air ambulance services. Both together operate more than 50 helicopters and 7 air ambulance aircraft and have performed over 650.000 missions.

Get more information about European Air Ambulance (EAA) at http://www.air-ambulance.com

Related Reading: EAA Joins List Of AMREF Flying Doctors’ Professional Partners