by Flying Angels Editorial Team | News & Resources
Travel hacks make the task of flying a bit more bearable. While you can’t control everything about the trip, you can take small steps to increase your comfort level.
DIY Travel Hacks
Flying on a commercial airline is not always a fun experience. For those who hate to fly it may even cause a lot of anxiety and stress. Ill or disabled travelers using a non-emergency medical transport service have the benefit of a trained professional who can suggest these proven travel hacks before their trip.
TSA Travel Tips for Disabled Travelers
A Flight Pillow
A quality flight pillow that can bend and fit comfortably around your neck whether you are sitting back in your seat or turned to the side. It’s certainly better than the classic “lay your head on the tray” maneuver.
A Hydrating Face Mask
Flying can really dry you out, especially if you are prone to drying out, anyway. A face mask can help keep the moisture in your face and not let it drift away in the recycled air at 35,000 feet.
Portable Charger
No, you can’t charge your phone or tablet on the plane. When power runs out, it’s goodbye electronic device until you get to the airport. Pack a portable charger that keeps your equipment up and running so you can keep enjoying whatever movie you’ve decided to watch in-flight.
International Travel Checklist
Headphones
Whether you are piping in actual audio or wearing noise-dampening headphones, this is a smart choice to drown out the sound of the salesperson in the next seat over describing in detail his last trip to Omaha. Or that baby crying behind you.
Have Standout Luggage
This isn’t so much in-flight, but post-flight. Still, it’s smart to either buy that pink piece of luggage or slap your black suitcase with a giant smiley face sticker. Otherwise, it’s easy to have a tough time spotting your luggage among all the black and grey luggage on the baggage carousel.
Play Music
If you get nervous during a flight, then pack your iPhone or other portable device with music that you love and that calms you down. Simply listening to music you enjoy can make a flight go by much faster.
Fun Things to Do on a Plane
Exercise
If you are able, exercising before a flight can make it easier to fall asleep once you get in the air. If not, stretching exercises can both make you feel calmer and more comfortable during the flight.
A Blanket
It’s cold up there in the upper atmosphere. Airlines rarely have blankets, and when they do, they are whatever is the opposite of “cozy.” Ensure your own coziness with a compact travel blanket that will keep you warm.
Sanitizing Wipes
Planes, with everyone packed in together, can get pretty germ-y. This is especially an issue if you are receiving medical transport. It’s a wise move to get some sanitizing wipes to clean off your tray table, your hands and any other surface you touch.
Hand Cream
Same idea as the face mask. Recirculated air will dry you out, but a good dose of hand cream will keep your skin fresh and smooth (and smelling good) throughout your flight.
What Is The Best Seat on an Airplane?
Sit Near The Wings
Many of those on a NEMT flight will sit near the front if moving down the aisle is difficult. But if it’s not, consider sitting somewhere near the wings. There’s a bit less turbulence in the middle of a plane, because they are designed to rock back and forth when there is turbulence.
Those are some of the best techniques for making long flights more bearable. Just remember that you don’t have to suffer if you can possibly find ways to make the flight less unbearable. And keep in the mind that eventually, it will be over!
7 Unique Holiday Travel Ideas
by Flying Angels Editorial Team | News & Resources
One of the key components of non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) is the presence of a flight nurse who travels with clients as they navigate through the airport and eventually take their flight.
For those interested in NEMT, it’s illuminating to know everything they do for patients.
Flight nurses have a challenging job. Transporting a patient via flight, 35,000 feet in the air with no one to call for help, is a huge responsibility. But flight nurses do an excellent job with this critical task. They combine the expertise of a medical professional with diplomatic skills and experience in travel to make the experience safe and even enjoyable.
Situations That Require NEMT
Why You Want A Flight Nurse
Flight nurses are trained to handle medical emergencies while traveling. They also handle dispensing any medication that is needed and put in the effort to make sure a client travels as comfortably as possible.
As in the case with Flying Angels, the best NEMT companies employ flight nurses who are registered nurses who have graduated from accredited nursing programs and obtained their RN license. They also have experience in critical care and emergency medical situations and are trained in flight physiology.
During a time when you might feel vulnerable as you make a long trip on a commercial airline, flight nurses provide the comfort level and expert care that gives you the confidence you need for your trip.
Are You Too Sick to Travel?
What Flight Nurses Do
Flight nurses have a variety of important duties. They include the following.
Packing a medical kit. Flight nurses carry the medical equipment needed to handle an emergency, as well as any medication a client needs.
Meeting all time schedules. Flight nurses, working with flight coordinators (who also are registered nurses), plan the trip and then manage it to meet all the scheduled airport arrivals and flight times.
Arranging ground transportation. This includes getting clients to the airport of departure and securing transportation once they arrive.
Working with international medical services. Flight nurses also coordinate any services needed overseas on international flights. This can include overcoming language barriers and understanding how medical services work in other countries.
Understanding airline rules. Flight nurses must know how different airlines handle different situations – both in the United States and overseas – and plan and act accordingly.
Understand flight physiology. Flight nurses have training in the specialty of flight physiology, as well as psychological stresses that sometimes affect clients during air travel.
What is Aviation Physiology?
Safety First
Commercial airlines were not designed for medical transport, but instead are a public transportation service. Part of understanding the different rules of airlines surrounding NEMT is knowing how to get the proper equipment when needed, such as stretchers and wheelchairs.
All of this is part of a flight nurse’s focus on safety. That’s the first job of a flight nurse: providing care to ensure a client’s health and safety during their flight. Understanding what equipment to bring and how to coordinate with various airlines, both foreign and domestic, is part of the expertise a flight nurse contributes.
Flight nurses play the most important role in NEMT. With the proper training and years of experience in intensive care, flight nurses provide clients with the safety and comfort they need as they make their journey.
How Does a Flight Coordinator Help?
by Flying Angels Editorial Team | News & Resources
For those traveling with disabilities or illness, important TSA travel tips will help everyone get prepared for their trip before leaving for the airport.
TSA Travel Tips
The first thing to know is that even if you are ill or disabled, that does not exempt you from having to go through security at an airport. All travelers are screened at airports, but the experience is different for those using non-emergency medical transport.
The following are some of the situations that likely will arise. The Transportation and Safety Administration has a complete rundown of various common issues on their website.
TSA Disability Notification Card
A good first step is to fill out a TSA Disability Notification Card that can be given to officers at the security gate. The card offers a quick overview that, coupled with other medical documentation, helps agents understand quickly your disability or condition.
Flight Nurse
Having a flight nurse, such as those who work with Flying Angels, gives you a partner in navigating the process. They can speak to officers about any concerns you have on security procedures, including alternative ways to handle the screening process.
Screening Process
Passengers with disabilities or illnesses can be checked through security in private rooms. Most, however, are not. Most security checks do not require those flying via medical transport to remove their shoes. However, the shoes will be checked both visually and physically. They may also be subject to explosives trace detection testing.
Other screening processes will include:
- Screening through advanced imaging technology if you can stand with your arms above your head for five to seven seconds without support or going through the walk-through metal detector if you can walk without support.
- All mobility aids such as walkers, crutches and canes – as well as medical devices – must undergo X-ray screening.
- Wheelchairs and scooters will also get screened by TSA officers, including seat cushions, non-removable pouches and fanny packs. Items will be tested for traces of explosives. Removable items will undergo X-ray screening.
Pat-down
If you cannot stand or walk through the detector, then a TSA agent will perform a pat-down while you are seated. For those who can stand for brief periods of time, you can stand near the wheelchair for a pat-down. If you go through the detector or the advanced imaging machine and an alarm is sounded, you also will undergo a pat-down.
TSA Pre-Check
One way to ease the process is to get approved for TSA Precheck, which means you will not be required to remove laptops, 3-1-1 liquids, belts or light jackets while going through security screening. You will, however, get screened via technology and possibly a pat-down. Other security measures may include swabbing your hands, any mobility aids you are using and medical equipment to search for explosive trace material.
Domestic vs. International
Generally speaking, domestic airlines are bit less demanding for those flying using non-emergency medical transport. Many also offer special assistants that you can call ahead of time and let them know your flight schedule.
American Airlines, for example, offers special assistance coordinators and a disability team that will work with you on wheelchair assistance, getting in and out of the plane, traveling with special medical equipment such as a portable oxygen concentrator, and arranging adjacent seating for you and your flight nurse.
International destinations often require more thorough medical checks, and international carriers typically have more stringent rules about getting clearance to fly with disabilities or illness. They may also require paperwork on medications and devices. This page from Air New Zealand offers a good idea of the types of rules you might encounter.
Flying with a disability or medical condition requires knowing these important TSA travel tips, pre-planning and preparation. With the right partner such as a flight coordinator and flight nurse, the experience can go much smoother.
by Flying Angels Editorial Team | News & Resources
The nursing profession offers excellent job opportunities for those committed to a career focused on helping others. Becoming a flight nurse is among those options. It’s one that is in more demand than ever.
What Exactly Does A Flight Nurse Do?
Flight nurses are often associated with emergency transportation, keeping patients stable while they are flown from the scene of an accident or disaster to the trauma unit of a local hospital.
However, flight nurses also work for companies such as Flying Angels, giving patients the medical support, they need while getting non-emergency medical transport.
It’s a challenging and rewarding job in the nursing profession. Becoming one requires dedication and commitment to the nursing profession and a nurse’s goal of providing quality care for others.
Education Needed For A Flight Nurse
The recommendation for a flight nurse is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Four-year degree programs in nursing typically include coursework in physical and social sciences, critical thinking, communication and leadership. Bachelor’s degree programs in nursing also offer clinical experience.
Those that wish to take on leadership positions in the medical field may also earn a Master of Science degree in nursing. All nurses in every state – as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. territories – must also earn a license to practice as a nurse.
All this prepares you to become a registered nurse. Becoming a flight nurse takes further experience.
Experience
NEMT companies typically only consider applicants for flight nurse jobs from those with at least three years of experience as a nurse in an intensive care unit (ICU) or emergency room. Some have an even higher standards.
For example, Flying Angels usually looks for nurses with about five years of experience, according to Bob Bacheler, managing director at Flying Angels.
He said the ICU experience sharpens critical thinking skills and gives nurses exposure to very ill patients. Time working in an emergency room gives nurses experience in dealing with a high volume of patients, trauma cases, making good assessments and improving triage and physical skills.
Bacheler said whatever unit a nurse has experience in “you would want it to have the highest possible acuity and exposure to different patients.”
Certifications And Further Education
Those who want to become flight nurses can demonstrate their commitment to the career by earning a Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN) designation from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN).
Employers also look with favor on those who have earned a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) certification offered through the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
Other coursework also should be taken. Bacheler, who has both a CFRN and CCRN, also is one of the authors of the coursework for the Trauma Practitioner Advanced Trauma Course. Required courses include Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS). Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) is also available for those who plan to work with children.
Bacheler also serves as a board member for the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association, which also offers guidance on becoming a flight nurse.
by Flying Angels Editorial Team | News & Resources
For those who wish to travel to Hawaii but need to fly with a nurse, achieving that goal just got a little easier with NEMT to Hawaii.
NEMT To Hawaii
Flying Angels recently expanded its service area to include Hawaii. The company has staff based in Hawaii and can handle all the details in getting those to the Pacific island state who require non-emergency medical transport.
For those in such a situation, Flying Angels will “take care of everything,” the company says on its website.
Traveling To Hawaii
People can require support when traveling to Hawaii for any number of reasons. In some cases, it can be people who live there who are trying to return home from a distant location. In others, people may have travel plans for Hawaii but are not able to make the trip without flying with trained medical personnel.
Also, those in Hawaii may need transportation services from one island to another.
Hiring non-emergency medical transport can help in all these cases. Flying Angels specializes in providing medical care for those who need it when traveling, as well as arranging all the details of a trip to make it as non-stressful and enjoyable as possible.
Flying Angels Services
Flying Angels, based in Philadelphia, has emerged as a leader in the growing non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) field.
NEMT is a very different service than an air ambulance, which is what many think of when they think about medical transport. In the case of an air ambulance, people are flown to trauma centers or intensive care units by helicopter or plane.
They are most often seen taking people from the site of major accidents or during natural disasters.
NEMT also transports patients, but under different circumstances. A NEMT service such as Flying Angels transports people using domestic and international commercial airlines, as well as with ground transportation to and from the airport.
A flight nurse travels with the patient. They are trained medical professionals capable of handling emergency situations. They also carry any medications a patient might need. They are with the patient the entire trip
Typically, people hire Flying Angels because they need to travel to another location for needed medical treatment and cannot get there on their own. Or, they are traveling elsewhere and experience a medical situation. Once they recover, a service such as Flying Angels can get them home safely.
They also fly with those who have chronic conditions or diseases when they travel for vacation – which is a service that could come in handy now that they provide NEMT to Hawaii.
The company offers some case examples of what they do for those interested in the medical transport service.
For those who want to fly to Hawaii and feel they may need medical assistance, Flying Angels is now making that dream easier to turn into a reality.
by Flying Angels Editorial Team | News & Resources
When facing a need for medical transportation, patients have a wide variety of options. But what’s the difference between an air ambulance and NEMT?
Air Ambulance Difference
These different modes of medical transportation differ for many reasons. Some are focused on emergency transport, while others focus on non-emergency transport. Patients may also pick various modes of transportation depending on their medical condition and the distance they need to travel.
The good news is that there has never been better options for medical transportation. This includes those who need air service to travel a long distance.
Both air ambulances and non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) deal with medical transport via flying. While both have some similarities, they are very different services.
Air Ambulance
Air ambulances typically come into use in emergency situations. In some cases, helicopters are used. The destination is usually a trauma center or intensive care unit.
The situations most people are familiar with for air ambulance use involve accidents on the road or natural disasters. Helicopters fly to the scene and quickly transport those that need immediate medical attention.
In the case of longer distances needing to be traveled, a plane can come into use. No matter what type of aircraft is employed, they come equipped with medical equipment to handle any emergencies that come up during the flight.
Non-Emergency Medical Transport
NEMT, such as that offered by Flying Angels, is also medical transportation, but under completely different circumstances.
With NEMT, a service is hired to coordinate transportation of a patient needing medical treatment at a facility they cannot reach on their own. In some cases, this will require ground transportation. In others, commercial airline flights will need to be used. In some cases, both are needed.
NEMT uses both domestic and international airlines to book travel. In the case of Flying Angels, a flight coordinator is assigned to each patient. They handle all aspects of the travel plans, booking flights and arranging any ground transportation that is needed.
A flight nurse also is assigned to each patient. They travel with the patient throughout the entire trip. They carry any medical devices or pharmaceuticals a patient might need. They also have training in handling medical emergencies.
NEMT vs Air Ambulance
NEMT has grown as the need has grown for medical transportation that doesn’t involve the use of an air ambulance. Using NEMT offers patients and their families a much more affordable option for medical transportation.
There are many different situations that require the use of NEMT. But services such as Flying Angels have made making the arrangements for medical transportation that much easier.
