Letters of Support for Air Evac?

My question of the day: Why is the Rushville Base soliciting letters of support for Air Evac?

Through a very round-about way, the RT got his hands on an email that has been circulating through the local leadership level and emergency personnel. The email requests letters of support from individuals to keep the Rushville base from closing. According to the email Wednesday, some Air Evac Corporate Officers will be visiting and making some long-range decisions. The local supporters are requesting that those who feel the Medical Helicopter is “vital to your area - please send a letter of support”.

What does this mean? Honestly, I am not sure.

For all this community knows, the fundraising for the pediatrics center is going so well that they may have to move the base to make room for the new building.

Maybe putting wheels back on the modular is what they are looking into?

All of you who know more than I do, here is your chance to educate me. I am ready, willing, and able.

I would invite the local officials who are “in the know” to chime in on the topic, and remember, as some say “you get more credibility if you sign your name.”

For those looking for a teaser (as a complete coincidence), on Friday this site will host the postings of a gentleman known as “TB” to local bloggers. He has emailed this blog and allowed the use of his posting to discuss the knowns and unknowns of air ambulance world.

Comments

[Watcher]

Sounds like some haters have succeeded in driving out one of the only good things that Rushville has. I hope they are happy.

[MAC]

O,K, folks, lets get real.. The helicopter service is a "for-profit" organization.. Money drives this operation not " good intentions." Several of us noted this in the beginning but were called naysayers. They have a history of pulling out of non profitable locations. The crash didn't help but that wasn't our fault... So if you think that a operation not making money is going to continue to show a loss just for our sakes then I would like to sell you a bridge.. In outerspace.. Any takers???

[Click]

So when will we ever hear the final tally that the community made toward the AEL?

Performance bonuses?
Building
Landing pad
Fueling station
Fence
Modular residence

[Watcher]

Better than just the community, how much of County and City money went, directly or indirectly, to Air Evacs operations here?

[Prophet]

Good question watcher. It should be public information.

[T.B., FP-C]

I'd be circulating letters, too if I were AEL. But I'd like to point out that even if Air Evac Lifeteam picks up and leaves town and leaves Rushville without a base, AEL will have already picked out another prime site in Indiana (or elsewhere) that they can set up shop and repeat their pattern.

What pattern?

Pick a rural area, set up shop, sell worthless memberships and operate the base at a profit (if so, it stays in business) or a loss (they'll close up shop and move again). And so their business model repeats.

Remember, Rush County, this aircraft and crew ARE NOT yours. AEL 76 came from INDIANAPOLIS, where they did virtually no calls and made no money. Rushville met the criteria --- rural, ripe with an untapped membership base and ready to play. Air Evac Lifeteam found a welcoming community and a community hospital ready to partner with them.

Certainly NONE of the AEL patients ever were flown to RMH for definitive treatment, so how does that benefit RMH's bottom line for increased patient revenue? And it's already been asked...how much did RMH and other community/county entities pony up to AEL in goodwill or actual tangible goods to make the AEL transition a good one? I doubt we'll ever know.

The crash is a focal point surrounding this base, but in the end, a tragic footnote since it has nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of AEL. Roger, Sandi and Wade are certainly not forgotten, but this base is potentially being closed because it's not making money for AEL.

I posted it elsewhere, but I think this blog posting I'm sharing with you below (publicly searchable on the Internet) drives home the point that AEL is all about money no mater what kind of crap they try to spin in the press, on their website, or insist face to face about their safety record.

I'll say it again since no one else will: as long as Air Evac Lifeteam maintains their self-proclaimed Wal-Mart mentality (spending the absolute minimum on day-to-day operations while trying to squeeze the maximum profit out of air medical operations) everyone who comes into contact with them is at risk of being "taken for a ride".

Check out this article posted to a publicly searchable blog on the Internet eviscerating AEL.

Of special note to you, and all who keep asking...how much does a EMS helicopter ride cost...the attached blog posting from http://artsandpalaver.blogspot.com/ includes a copy of the AEL bill!

I'm speechless. Around $10,000 is the top end of reasonable. $17,000 is highway robbery. Come on...$100 per loaded mile for 70 flight miles to the hospital?

There are other things I'd like to call it, but public decorum prohibits me from doing so.

Here's the article:

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

A PROFILE GREED - Air Evac Lifeteam Charges College Student $17,000 For a Ride in a Helicopter

This isn't just David vs. Goliath, this is Erin vs. Air Evac Lifeteam, an American college student returning home from a mission of mercy vs. a mercenary helicopter service that charges insanely outrageous fees for the privilege of ferrying helpless accident victims to a hospital, and later, to a lifeteam of crushing debt.

Now, I support capitalism, but what Air Evac Lifeteam does to unfortunate people unable to compete in a fair marketplace for air ambulance services is unconscionable unless one is a confirmed corporate sociopath, the Enron likes of which intentionally cut the electricity in California to drive up prices.

Now comes the victim, Erin Neff (daughter to the editor of Web del Sol)--returning home from a long trip, organized by her school to help Katrina casualties. Her van spun out of control and Erin was thrown from the vehicle and onto the highway. Miraculously, she did not break anything, but authorities on the scene thought it best to evac her to the nearest hospital for tests. And guess who arrives? AIR EVAC LIFETEAM with a transport price tag that would make even millionaires pause--I mean, who in their right mind would pay $17,000+ for a 30 minute helicopter ride? No one, of course.

Erin didn't mind getting picked up and flown to the hospital. It was fun, in a way. Little did she know that this angel-of-mercy company was going to send her a bill that would potentially burden her with bills at high interest rates for years to come (on top of her student loans!).

A copy of that bill can be found here:

http://webdelsol.com/Blog_House/air-evac-invoice.jpg

Note they charged her a whopping ten grand just to step on the copter! The rest of it is a per mile fee that adds up to close to seven more thousand.

Erin Neff cannot pay this bill. She is working with her college to pay some of it. Insurance is covering zip. But even as around-the-block as I am, this kind of story floors me!
Okay, so what is really responsible for the dizzying rise of health care costs in America? One word ... GREED.

Just pure f**king GREED!

end copied blog post

****

Wow. I'd avoid getting into an AEL helicopter at all costs. Have it tattooed on your forehead...it would be cheaper in the end than the helicopter ride.

$100.00 per loaded mile? For what? The helicopter ride you can't enjoy strapped to a cot on your back looking at the ceiling? The outstanding safety record of AEL that $17,000 bill contributes to? Or because you enjoy subsidizing AEL's corporate profits while they still continue to use only cheapo Bell 206 aircraft?

Please feel free to copy the image of this Air Evac Lifeteam bill and re-distribute it freely to anyone who hasn't yet decided that AEL is all about the money.

If you do your own unbiased Internet research, you'll find out that the stark Truth about Air Evac Lifeteam is just the type of Truth that this blog strives to uncover.

T.B., FP-C