havoc
28th Nov 2006, 03:04
Air Evac Ambulance Service Raises Questions
By Mike Owens
I-Team Reporter
(KSDK) - Air Evac is a helicopter ambulance company based in West Plains, Mo. Air Evac has helicopters in the St. Louis area, as well as in ten other states.
Air Evac also collects membership fees of about $50 from its customers. The deal is, if you get a life or limb threatening situation, you fly free. However, your insurance company would get the bill.
Some former pilots at Air Evac say they were under pressure to take flights they felt were risky. Two former pilots spoke anonymously, fearing they would be blackballed in the industry.
The pilots say they were told to fly into weather conditions they felt weren't the best, and when they turned around, they were second guessed by Air Evac bosses at the company's headquarters.
The pilots say they were ordered to fly because they had to keep 'the numbers up.'
Each Air Evac base is monitored for the number of flights taken each month. The company shares that information with all the pilots and medical crews. The pilots we talked with say the threat is there: if your number of flights goes too low, the company will close the base and you'll have to find a new home in another town far away.
Colin Collins, 60, is the CEO of Air Evac. The biochemist says the allegations are false, and the pilots are in charge of their helicopters.
Collins says pilots can accept or reject a flight at will. Collins confirms that Air Evac has had 15 accidents since 1985, adding quickly that the company is safe.
However, he admits that the nature of helicopter ambulances creates a high-risk profile. That profile includes flying at night and flying into roadside landing zones.
Collins says the company's business model -- collecting membership fees -- helps defray the costs of air trips to those who need them. Air ambulance rides cost from $6,000 to $8,000.
Collins says his company moves into an underserved area and promotes its service. However, a few ground ambulance district administrators say Air Evac comes in, makes promises it can't keep, collects lots of fees, and moves on.
Three years ago in Jefferson County, Air Evac hired the administrator of an ambulance district to promote its service. That administrator also had input on what air ambulance service to call in case of emergency.
Air Evac also promised to base a helicopter in Hillsboro but after 11 months and after collecting the fees, the company pulled the helicopter out of Hillsboro.
Air Evac now serves Jefferson County from St. Clair in nearby Franklin County. Many Jefferson County residents were unhappy with that decision.
When Air Evac had a chopper in Jefferson County, the Missouri Department of Health recorded a big increase in flights, but when the copter moved, the number of flights went back down to prior levels.
Critics say that's proof Air Evac hauls passengers that don't really need the service, and that the service is about money, not medicine.
In many cases, insurance covers the cost of the ambulance. In fact, one former pilot says he once hauled a patient who was waiting at the landing zone with his suitcase and smoking a cigarette -- hardly an emergency he says.
Air Evac operates the third largest fleet of Bell Long Ranger helicopters in the world. But, the helicopters aren't fitted for medical work until after they get to Air Evac's base in West Plains, where dozens of choppers are repaired and converted into ambulances.
Company officials say the firm doesn't buy new choppers, only used, and they usually come from the oil fields, the utility industry or from the petroleum rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
KSDK
By Mike Owens
I-Team Reporter
(KSDK) - Air Evac is a helicopter ambulance company based in West Plains, Mo. Air Evac has helicopters in the St. Louis area, as well as in ten other states.
Air Evac also collects membership fees of about $50 from its customers. The deal is, if you get a life or limb threatening situation, you fly free. However, your insurance company would get the bill.
Some former pilots at Air Evac say they were under pressure to take flights they felt were risky. Two former pilots spoke anonymously, fearing they would be blackballed in the industry.
The pilots say they were told to fly into weather conditions they felt weren't the best, and when they turned around, they were second guessed by Air Evac bosses at the company's headquarters.
The pilots say they were ordered to fly because they had to keep 'the numbers up.'
Each Air Evac base is monitored for the number of flights taken each month. The company shares that information with all the pilots and medical crews. The pilots we talked with say the threat is there: if your number of flights goes too low, the company will close the base and you'll have to find a new home in another town far away.
Colin Collins, 60, is the CEO of Air Evac. The biochemist says the allegations are false, and the pilots are in charge of their helicopters.
Collins says pilots can accept or reject a flight at will. Collins confirms that Air Evac has had 15 accidents since 1985, adding quickly that the company is safe.
However, he admits that the nature of helicopter ambulances creates a high-risk profile. That profile includes flying at night and flying into roadside landing zones.
Collins says the company's business model -- collecting membership fees -- helps defray the costs of air trips to those who need them. Air ambulance rides cost from $6,000 to $8,000.
Collins says his company moves into an underserved area and promotes its service. However, a few ground ambulance district administrators say Air Evac comes in, makes promises it can't keep, collects lots of fees, and moves on.
Three years ago in Jefferson County, Air Evac hired the administrator of an ambulance district to promote its service. That administrator also had input on what air ambulance service to call in case of emergency.
Air Evac also promised to base a helicopter in Hillsboro but after 11 months and after collecting the fees, the company pulled the helicopter out of Hillsboro.
Air Evac now serves Jefferson County from St. Clair in nearby Franklin County. Many Jefferson County residents were unhappy with that decision.
When Air Evac had a chopper in Jefferson County, the Missouri Department of Health recorded a big increase in flights, but when the copter moved, the number of flights went back down to prior levels.
Critics say that's proof Air Evac hauls passengers that don't really need the service, and that the service is about money, not medicine.
In many cases, insurance covers the cost of the ambulance. In fact, one former pilot says he once hauled a patient who was waiting at the landing zone with his suitcase and smoking a cigarette -- hardly an emergency he says.
Air Evac operates the third largest fleet of Bell Long Ranger helicopters in the world. But, the helicopters aren't fitted for medical work until after they get to Air Evac's base in West Plains, where dozens of choppers are repaired and converted into ambulances.
Company officials say the firm doesn't buy new choppers, only used, and they usually come from the oil fields, the utility industry or from the petroleum rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
KSDK