The Carmi Kiwanis Club met January 23. Past-president Katelyne Wolff announced that the annual Pancake Day is Saturday, February 29. Tickets are available from any club member.
The program featured AirLife, an air medical transport team stationed at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, IL. In recent months, AirLife has added stations in Olney and Carbondale allowing them to service White County. Greg Hays, flight nurse and brother of club member Doug Hays, began with a slide show. Greg gave an overview of the requirements necessary to be a flight nurse, flight paramedic, and air medical pilot. After describing the EC130 helicopter used by AirLife, Greg showed a map of where AirLife transports. Depending on the location and need of the patient, AirLife flies to trauma centers in Evansville, Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Champaign/Urbana, Springfield, St. Louis, and Vincennes.
Tyranne McDaniel and Kyle Killeen of Air Methods spoke next. Air Methods is the post-transport insurance billing side of AirLife. Air Methods is a no membership required service. They explained the costs of AirLife, whether a patient is insured and in-network, insured and out-of-network, or uninsured. Air Methods has a dedicated Patient Advocacy department which provides patients with support and resources during the billing process. According to Air Methods, the average out-of-pocket expense for their services to patients in the state of Illinois is $124. They also said that only 3% of the population uses air medical transport. Ultimately, their goal is to provide safe and reliable lifesaving treatment 24/7/365, treat every patient with care, and help them navigate the confusing insurance process.
The White County Ambulance Service was also in attendance to help answer questions raised by club members. For more information call 855.896.9067 or go to airmethods.com.
