What is a Long Distance Ambulance?
People use a long distance ambulance to transport themselves or a loved one in non-emergency situations. This medical transportation option ensures patients travel safely by either ground-based transport or commercial air travel.
The main goal in using a long distance ambulance and non-emergency medical transport is to ensure the patient has medical attention during their journey and arrives safely at their destination.
Often, those being transferred are seniors traveling to or from an assisted living facility, cancer treatment center, nursing home or home healthcare facility. They may also have been discharged in stable condition from a top US hospital and simply need to return home.
The Value of Non-Emergency Medical Transport
Using non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) is a popular medical transportation option. While it can involve the use of a long distance ambulance, it often involves commercial airline travel, accompanied by an experienced flight nurse.
A trip is generally considered to be long distance if it is more than 200 miles. As the nation’s population ages, there are an increasing number of non-ambulatory patients who require non-emergency transportation.
People use medical transportation for a variety of reasons. They include:
- Senior travelers taking a vacation or making a trip to see family
- Those injured while on vacation who are coming back home
- Patients transferring from one medical facility to another
- Travelers with a disability or chronic condition that impedes movement
- Seniors who are moving to a new area
- Frequent medical conditions for NEMT patients include; Alzheimer’s, cancer, dementia, stabilized bone fractures, post-operative patients and those who are wheelchair-bound.
Those are just some of the scenarios that have made NEMT and long distance ambulances a more popular medical transport option in recent years.
Ground vs. Air Transportation
NEMT companies such as Flying Angels can book a flight for patients, coordinate with the airlines and airports along the route, handle international flights and provide an experienced RN as a flight nurse.
That level of service makes air transportation a great choice for many people. Transportation on a commercial airline also means patients reach their destination faster than if they use ground transportation. Even in a non-emergency situation, this is what most patients prefer.
Using a commercial flight with a nurse is also far less expensive than using an air ambulance, which is the most expensive transportation option. Whatever method you choose, it’s important to know that patients have options when it comes to medical transportation. With the modern services available, patients can quickly and safely reach their destination while enjoying the most comfortable situation possible.
Improve Air Travel for Seniors
It’s important to make air travel for seniors as safe and as comfortable as possible. Some of the best tips include requesting a wheelchair, asking for special screening procedures, carrying all-important medications on the plane, protecting against checkpoint theft and getting the best available seats for seniors.
All these tips make air travel for seniors that much better. The key for seniors is to plan ahead or hire a non-emergency medical transport company that handles these issues. A flight nurse who specializes in patient advocacy can assist passengers in making all the below senior air travel arrangements.
Request a Wheelchair
For some seniors, it’s difficult to walk from the curb to the gate. Many seniors experience problems with their hips and feet. They may also have respiratory issues that hinder the ability to walk very far. This is one of the most common issues in air travel for seniors. All airports provide wheelchairs for those who request them, which can be done in advance or when you arrive. You may also bring your own wheelchair, which airline employees will store during the flight.
Ask For Special Screening Procedures
The federal Transportation Safety Agency (TSA), which oversees airport security in the U.S., offers special security check procedures for those older than 75 or traveling with a disability. Please note that if you have a wearable medical device or use medical equipment (such as a respirator), the TSA will apply extra screening tests, such as testing for traces of explosives. Another smart move is to register with TSA Pre-Check. Also, always strive to arrive early.
Carry All Important Medications On The Plane
Like passengers of all ages, seniors should never put important medicine into checked luggage. That can become a serious issue if the luggage is lost. Seniors should place medications in a handbag or whatever is the most comfortable for them to carry. Make sure it is a size that can slide under the seat in front of you. That way, you can handle it yourself and not need help putting the bag in an overhead bin.
Protect Against Checkpoint Theft
This is another issue that applies to everyone. However, thieves may see seniors as easier victims. The important issue here is to maintain eye contact with your items as much as possible, or have someone there that can do it for you. For example, try to go through security at the same time your bags go through. The longer your items sit on the other end of the baggage belt with no one watching them, the easier it is for a thief to take something from them.
Best Available Seats For Seniors
Most seniors prefer getting seated at or near the front of the plane, which provides more legroom and a shorter walk to the restroom. This is something to mention when buying the tickets. A flight coordinator also can arrange this with the airlines by contacting them in advance. Senior air travel is an important issue as the population of the country ages and more people want to travel. It’s important to know you are not alone and that support is available to make air travel for seniors something to enjoy, not dread.
What Is Critical Care Travel?
Critical care travel involves having medical personnel on hand when you make a trip. It can include air ambulances used for emergency transport and non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) for travelers who want the security of having a nurse with them during a flight.
It’s an increasingly popular option to use critical care travel while making a long trip by plane for a vacation or to visit a specialist doctor. Having a travel nurse along for a trip ensures that a patient’s health is in good hands.
Who Uses Critical Travel Care?
Critical care travel is something used by those who suffer from a chronic illness or those who have been injured. In either case, they may have difficulty with their mobility. A travel nurse (sometimes called a flight nurse) offers support by helping patients with their travel arrangements, moving through often congested airports and getting onboard the plane.
They also ensure that the patient has all the medicine they need, as well as any important medical devices. Travel nurses are trained in critical care travel and understanding the variables created by treating someone while thousands of feet in the air.
NEMT is an air ambulance alternative. It’s helpful to know the differences. An air ambulance is typically staffed by emergency medical personnel and used to transport people from the site of an accident or natural disaster to the nearest medical facility.
This is a far cry from NEMT and critical care travel.
The Advantages of Critical Travel Care
There are many advantages for those who choose to use these kinds of services. Using Flying Angels’ service as an example, these are some of the factors that lead people to hire critical care nurses.
- NEMT service is available for trips on commercial airlines anywhere in the world
- A flight coordinator handles all the reservations for your trip
- An experienced flight nurse accompanies you on your trip, ensuring your health and safety
- Flight nurses have years of experience in emergency room settings and are schooled in the details of providing in-flight medical care
There also are many advantages for NEMT as an alternative to air ambulances. Because you can get NEMT services on a commercial flight, you can also avoid the high costs of using a private flight. Also, everything is planned in advance, from dealing with items such as wheelchairs to coordination of the boarding process. Critical care travel with a travel nurse is a smart way to get the care you need while you travel. When looking for alternatives to an air ambulance, it’s an option worth considering.
Emergency vs. Medical Transport: What’s The Difference?
Both medical transport and emergency transport involve getting people from one location to another. Emergency transport typically is used to get a patient to a hospital quickly. Medical transport involves moving someone who needs or wants medical care during the journey.
The main difference is the situation. Those in emergency transport need to arrive at a treatment facility as fast as possible. Those who get medical transport are not usually in a hurry. They may even be on vacation. But they have medical personnel with them to ensure their medical needs are taken care of during the trip.
Reasons for Emergency Transport
If you ever are in a situation where you must dial 9-1-1, the people who arrive work in emergency transport. Typically, they use an ambulance or helicopter. What is sent depends on your medical condition or injury. Emergency personnel will send whatever vehicle they think has the best chance of keeping you alive until you reach the hospital.
The staff involved with emergency transport includes emergency medical technicians (EMT) and paramedics who can assess your condition and perform the necessary medical procedures to keep you stable until you reach the hospital.
They are experts at first-aid treatment and life support care. They report what they have seen to doctors and nurses at the hospital once they arrive.
Reasons for Medical Transport
Many who are interested in medical transport may not know that the nurses who travel with patients have training and experience in emergency medicine – at least, that is the case with Flying Angels.
Medical transport, sometimes called non-emergency medical transport (NEMT), can be used for many reasons. They typically involve air travel. Situations that could involve medical transport include:
- Traveling to see a specialist in another city
- Grandparents on a vacation to see loved ones
- Elderly parents moving to a new home
- Someone who has suffered an injury but who must travel
- Someone with a chronic medical condition
- Someone who has experienced a medical emergency in another country and is trying to get home
In any of those situations, people can hire a service that provides a flight nurse who will travel with them. The experienced nurse manages all the medical equipment needed to handle any situation, as well as manage the patient’s medication. They also have training on providing medical care at high altitudes.
Additionally, the company handles all the travel arrangements for clients and guides them through all the processes within the airport. Those are the primary differences between emergency transport and medical transport. Here’s hoping you never need either, but if you need the latter, you at least know that help is there when you need it.