RRC Archives

A helicopter is a great way to quickly transport a seriously injured person from the RRG area to the UK Level 1 Trauma Center in Lexington. I’m grateful it was there for me last week when I needed it.

Just got the bill for my "joy ride." The helicopter portion of the evac--$13,530.03. (Gulp). The attending EMTs determined that fast transport (e.g. airlift to UK Trauma Center) was a medical necessity, so I think my insurance will cover most or all of my transport.

If you, or someone in your party, are injured, you might want to be sure it is a medical necessity before opting for the helicopter. Better yet, don’t climb or hike clumsily as I do and avoid injury.

Liz

Wow, they should have at least let you go sight seeing throughout KY.

In the medical industry, these flights are called "the dash for cash". In the world of $10 asprin, $13k for the heli round-trip and the crew+medical staff on the chopper sounds almost reasonable.

I'm trying to imagine how much pain I could endure to call my insurer to confirm that they would be picking up the charge before agreeing to the flight...

I'm establishing an order that if I'm in need of evac, I'm to be walked the hell out to the car, then driven, no matter me mental state, to the nearest clinic.

i had a buddy in New Zealand who broke his back when he fell and all his gear ripped (he shifted a huge block that all the gear was up against) at a new climbing area and endured a 30 minute ambulance ride down a nasty dirt road and then another couple hours to a hospital b/c he didn't want to use a helicopter, he wanted it to be available for people who really "needed" it. he's a pretty tough guy, ex-SAS or something like that but still, it seemed incredible

I wonder what the 3 cents was for?

caribe wrote:I wonder what the 3 cents was for?

Complimentary glass of wine.

Liz

In the case of a compound fracture, it is not a matter of how much pain you can endure or how tough you wanna be. A badly broken bone can cut off blood flow to the part of the leg distal to the break. Wait too long and your lower leg can die.

Rick

here's to hoping the insurance picks up the tab!

as a side note - i remember going to Red Rock Rendezvous and there was a booth there advertising membership in some sort of alpineish group. they said that for your $40 annual membership it included medi-vac insurance on top of whatever you may have. now i'm wondering what group that was and if it would have covered this sort of incident too. anyone heard of this before?

I'm glad you are feeling better.( You are better aren't you ?)
I'll bet it is hard to make independent decisions when you have a traumatic injury.
I wonder what the time difference is in making the ambulance trip versus the heli ride.