Sometimes, when it comes to air medical transport, even the best-laid plans can fall through. Take a recent case we had, a commercial medical escort from New Mexico to Maryland. The patient was a young man living in Santa Fe who had been hit by a car and sustained a pretty serious head injury.

The hospital in Santa Fe was ready to discharge the man, but it was clear he still needed some time to recover and wouldn’t be able to live on his own again right away. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any family members in the immediate area. His only relatives were his estranged father, who lived out of state, and an uncle, who lived in Baltimore. The hospital staff contacted the man’s uncle, who said he’d be happy to care for his nephew as he made his recovery. But he wouldn’t be able to come to New Mexico to pick up his nephew. That’s when the hospital called us.

Though the patient didn’t have any insurance, the hospital was willing to cover all the costs of a commercial medical escort from New Mexico to Maryland. With just a couple of days until the transport, we set about organizing all the details, from booking seats on a flight from Albuquerque to Baltimore, to arranging ground transportation between the hospital in Santa Fe and airport in Albuquerque.

The commercial medical transport was scheduled for Saturday, and by Friday afternoon, everything was set. Our air medical escort would accompany the patient from Santa Fe to Baltimore, assisting him with all aspects of the journey (including helping him get through the TSA screening, since he didn’t have a driver’s license or other form of identification). Once we got to Maryland, the uncle would meet us at the airport and take over his nephew’s care.

Then, late on Friday evening, we received a call from the uncle. He wanted to let us know he wouldn’t be meeting us at the airport in Baltimore. For whatever reason, he’d decided that he wasn’t able, financially or otherwise, to take on job of caring for a sick family member.

Naturally, that decision left us in an awkward spot. We were planning on picking up a patient and flying with him to Maryland the next day, but if there was no one there to meet him, we couldn’t in good conscience just drop him at baggage claim and send him on his way. So we got in touch with the hospital right away, explaining the situation to the staff.

Ultimately, we ended up canceling that transport. The patient stayed in New Mexico and is recovering in a facility there. It was a tough situation, and it just goes to show that nothing is predicable when it comes to air medical transport. Sometimes, you have everything lined up and ready to go and it just doesn’t work out. But the important thing is that we’re prepared and ready to help if – and when – you need it.

To find out more about MedFlight911′s commercial air medical transport services give us a call at 888-359-1911 or get a no-obligation air medical escort quote here.