When a person requires air medical transport after an accident or injury, the clock starts ticking to reach a medical facility that can provide the appropriate level of care. However, just as important as speed is in caring for a patient is a service provider’s critical care transport experience. That experience and background is important to ensuring that a medical transport company is prepared to meet the specific needs of the patient during transport.
By definition, ‘”critical care” involves the direct delivery of medical care to a person who is critically ill or injured. Critical care is needed for patients that suffer extensive injuries, surgery or life threateningdiseases.
Examples of situations that may require critical care transport include:
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
- Severe Brain Trauma
- Internal Organ Trauma
- Full Intubation
- Sepsis
- Life-threatening Diseases
Although such medical conditions may require critical care, patients and their families may have options in terms of the mode of transport. While air ambulances – either fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters – may be the first kind of critical care transport that comes to mind, it may not be the most appropriate for the patient.
SentinelMED’s Approach to Critical Care Transport
At SentinelMED, we consider the input of a patient’s health care provider, family members and the patient themselves when determining the best option for critical care transport. In many cases, the initial request for our services comes from a hospital case manager who is arranging discharge transport for a patient to a receiving medical facility that is better equipped to meet the patient’s needs. We gather information from case managers, as well as the patient’s family members, to help us determine the level of care needed during transport. In addition, our process includes using questionnaires to determine if the patient has any language, cultural or religious concerns that need to be addressed before and during transport.
Our team uses all this information to identify the most appropriate form of critical care transport. Depending on a specific patient’s needs, that could include transport by air ambulance, ground ambulance, commercial airline or a combination of these.
We also may recommend that a patient travel with a medical escort to provide care during transport, and will select an escort to accompany the patient based on his or her specific medical, communication or cultural needs. Our medical escorts are professionally trained or experienced in emergency and critical care medicine.
Critical Care Transport Services from SentinelMED
The SentinelMED team provides domestic and international medical transport, medical repatriation and medical escort services for travelers who have serious or complicated medical concerns, including those who need critical care. We also help provide air medical transport to patients who need assistance traveling long distances, including medical tourists and people who have physical or cognitive impairments.
We can arrange door-to-door transportation so these travelers can make the journey in safety and comfort. In many cases, patients are accompanied by medical escorts, who are physicians, physician assistants or nurses. They assist patients throughout the transport process with medication, mobility concerns and continual medical care, and can administer supplemental oxygen when needed.
SentinelMED understands the complexity of delivering exceptional care to patients who need assistance during travel. Please contact us to learn more about the services that SentinelMED offers or its staff.
