Air Ambulance Helicopters in the Philippines

With the growing demand for medevac / air ambulance helicopters, Airgurus, the leader in professional medical evacuation services in the Philippines, has recently added an Agusta Westland 109A to the fleet. The helicopter boasts several new state-of-the-art features, including several global positioning units, terrain avoidance technology, tracking systems and so many more.

With our medical flight crew and paramedics on duty at all times, Airgurus' air ambulance of med-flight helicopters are on a stand-by to save lives 24/... delivering the very best in aero-medical care.

"It’s more of a flying intensive care unit than an ambulance, with room for one patient and two medical attendants. The new med-flight helicopter that took to the skies this July will help save lives across the region. We excited about the new aircraft, because its' increased space allows for better health care in the skies. We are here to provide Med-Flight services and Medevac is the primary mission and reason for us to be here.", said Capt. Harry Lero, Chief Pilot and President of Airgurus Ltd. Co.

Capt. Lero, known in the country as the best medical evacuation helicopter pilot in the country, knows how critical it is to get the medically-ill patients or accident victims to a medical facility as soon as possible. It also takes more than helicopter pilots to perform the life-saving missions. Along with his roster of medical evacuation helicopter pilots in the country, their job is to pick up patients anywhere in the Philippines... They have to be ready to take a call at anytime.

With the addition of the Agusta Westland 109A to their fleet would be beneficial to all our global citizens who travel in the country every day as well as the Filipino residents. This means a lot speed – it decreases the amount of time it takes to get wounded people to the hospital thus; saving lives in a daily basis.

Philippines Air Ambulance FAQ No. 2: Who Needs An Air Ambulance?

Who Needs An Air Ambulance?

• Patients needing extensive or urgent medical attention when time is critical
• Patients with critical illness or injury when patient cannot be transported by any commercial means
• Patients with an injury or illness or figured in an accident while traveling
• Patients with illness or injury requiring treatment by a specialist at apt medical facilities
• Non-emergency patients needing to be brought closer to home or home with medical escorts

For patients requiring urgent care, an air ambulance is the most appropriate choice. With our own team of highly-skilled doctors, registered nurses, respiratory therapists, pediatric specialists and critical care paramedics, Airgurus offers bedside to bedside services to those in need of medical air transport domestically and internationally.

Philippines Air Ambulance FAQ No. 1: What Is An Air Ambulance?

What is an Air Ambulance?

An air ambulance is an aircraft used for means of safely and comfortably transporting patients who are too ill to travel long or even short distances by ground. All air ambulance aircraft are of business class specifications equipped for extensive or urgent medical evacuations. At its best, an air ambulance transport is the fastest method of transporting critically-ill patients from one facility to another. 

Airgurus provides air ambulance services and is recognized as the leader in medical air transportation in the Philippines. Airgurus' Bell 206- L3 and Agusta Westland 109A features state-of-the-art medical equipment and are the only helicopters in the Philippines with litter kit (Double deck stretcher). Complete with a real time tracking system for all of our aircraft, we are one of the only two aircraft companies in the Philippines with this system to ensure flight safety, the well-being of the patient and real time coordination to the best medical facilities in the country.

Airgurus has two types of air ambulance aircraft for medical transport: helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes. The state-of-the-art medically-suited helicopters are used for short-haul, critical cases,  trauma-related emergency flights and are also used when there are no runways available for a fixed-wing aircraft to land. Our fixed-wing aircraft are customized with stretchers, advanced life support equipment, medications and specialized flight-trained medical staff ... most of the time, these are used for non-emergency medical evacuation.  

Our helicopters and all of our medically-suited aircraft are religiously managed and maintained by highly trained flight and maintenance crews as our air ambulance service offers 24 hours emergency and non-emergency medical transport services throughout the country and off-shore. In the cramped spaces of our helicopters especially, we carry supplies and medications similar to those found in an intensive care unit i.e., intravenous pumps, a ventilator, cardiac monitoring systems and defibrillator, resuscitation equipment, suction, intubation equipment, balloon pump, IV, ACLS drug complement and any other specialty equipment necessary for each individual patient's needs. With our litter kit, there's even enough room for two patients if necessary, on stretchers.

Airgurus offers multiple domestic aircraft options designed to meet individual requirements and budget considerations. We also offer international air ambulance transports to bring patients home or closer to home with medical escorts. 

For more details, visit the website www.airgurus.com

PHILIPPINES AIR AMBULANCE: AIRGURUS CASE # 822 APPENDICITIS

Classified as an medical emergency requiring an Air Ambulance, Appendicitis is a condition characterized by the inflammation of the appendix that in most cases, requiring the removal of the inflamed appendix either by laparatomy or laparoscopy.

If appendicitis is untreated, mortality is high mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to peritonitis and shock.

Documenting the aforementioned case in real time... Airgurus' Air Ambulance Helicopter #1 took off at 1:55pm bound for Boracay Island to execute the medical evacuation of a man suffering from appendicitis.

As of writing (2:51pm of August 9, 2011), the Air Ambulance Helicopter # 1 is passing through waters nearby Mindoro Island estimated to arrive Boracay Island by 4pm after a short refuel stop at Caticlan.

The patient's attending physician in Boracay Island contacted Airgurus for his immediate medical transfer to St. Lukes' Global City, Taguig to be endorsed to a specialist, Dr. Dela Pena at an expected time of 6pm.

For people and patients in the Philippines requiring urgent care, an air ambulance is the most appropriate choice. With our own team of high-skilled doctors, registered nurses, respiratory therapists, pediatric specialists and critical care paramedics, Airgurus offers bedside to bedside services to those in need of medical air transport domestically and internationally.

We are fast in our response to medical evacuations.... challenging but it never left our minds that anytime... anywhere... we have to deliver everyone throughout the golden hours... the hours between life and death.

Air Ambulance Case # 822 in the Philippines... currently happening!

Ambulansyang De Elisi by Jessica Soho: Air Ambulance in the Philippines

Saving lives 24/7 in the Philippines is the company, Airgurus. Jessica Soho, a notable Filipino broadcast journalist, documentarian, news director featured Airgurus last August 1, 2011 on GMA7's "Brigada" for the company's remarkable air ambulance services in the Philippines as reported by Bernadette Reyes.

Airgurus provides Air Ambulance services and is recognized as the leader in medical air transportation in the Philippines. The medical flight crew include some of the most experienced flight paramedics in the field with 800++ lives saved to date.

The featured Bell 206-L3 in this video features state-of-the-art medical equipment and is the only helicopter with litter kit (double-deck stretcher) in the Philippines. A new chopper, Airgurus' A109 will soon be the 2nd to have the litter kit.

To know more about Airgurus' 24/7 air ambulance emergency and non-emergency services, go to www.airgurus.com

Watch the video "Ambulansyang De Elisi" at Airgurus' Youtube Channel

New Emergency Rescue Takes Off

It is a scary thought: you are seriously ill or injured and need to get to a hospital in Manila now.

You have only three options: emergency airlift, take a commercial flight, or go to Kalibo's hospital.

Kalibo's hospital may not have the necessary equipment or staff. Taking a commercial flight is only possible if the patient is able to be transported sitting up. Emergency airlifts are extremely expensive and, in the Philippines, can cost upwards of P1-million pesos. An emergency helicopter trip from Boracay to Manila typically costs P250,000-300,000. 

Enter SkyAid, a membership program organized by two of the Philippines' leading air ambulance service providers, Airgurus Ltd. Co. offering members free emergency medical transportation for as little as P10 per day per person, with their most expensive plan for individual one-week visitors running only P143 per day.

SkyAid's medical evacuation team is composed of four helicopters and three fixed-wing aircraft. Their aircraft are nothing like the tiny helicopter based in Caticlan that long-time residents of the island know from island airlift stories. Their helicopter fleet is made up of a Bell 206 L3 (Longranger), Agusta Westland 109A, Eurocopter AS350B, Bell 206 B3 (Jetranger) and Robinson R44, supported by the fixed wing Baron 58, Kingair 200 and Cessna 206.
 

Capt. Harry Lero from SkyAid and Dr. "Girlie" Teotico of Metropolitan Doctors Medical Clinic recently invited the Boracay Sun staff on a tour of the island on their spacious Bell Longranger helicopter, giving us a first-hand experience with their professional crew and well-maintained aircraft. A dual- purpose aircraft capable of carrying five passengers, it converts in only 20 minutes to a medical transport capable of holding two stretchers, two passengers and medical gear.

As it is estimated that 40-60 people are airlifted from Boracay to Manila for emergency medical treatment each year, SkyAid's arrival is welcome.

Acting somewhat like insurance, SkyAid's membership fee of P9,000 per year for individuals is a hedge against the huge cost of an air evacuation. Four-person family memberships (covering children up to age 40) cost only P21,000 per year. SkyAid also offers discounted rates for multi-year commitments, with the five-year family plan only costing P3,750 per person per year. SkyAid covers members traveling anywhere within the Philippines, not just while in Boracay.

One of the biggest challenges in a medical air-evacuation scenario is travel time. Almost all of the Philippines’ medical evacuation fleet, including SkyAid's, is permanently housed in Manila. Upon receiving notice of a situation in Boracay, they need to prepare for flight, fly to Boracay and then refuel in Caticlan before heading back to Manila. This means it takes three to four hours after the phone call before a patient arrives at a hospital in Manila.

SkyAid will tackle this challenge by permanently locating a helicopter in Boracay at Fairways and Bluewater starting in the first half of 2011, cutting transportation time to Manila in half.

Although not for everyone, this service seems ideal for those engaging in the more adventurous activities such as kiteboarding or diving. Some premier resorts are also choosing to include the coverage as an optional add-on for their guests.

Like all contracts, reading the fine print is important. The service covers two transports per year, but only if they are separated by more than 30 days. If the illness is psychiatric – caused by attempted suicide, alcohol or drug abuse – you won't be covered. 

Bumps and bruises won't get you a free trip to Manila, either. According to SkyAid, "decisions regarding urgency of the case, the best timing and most suitable means of transportation will be made by the SkyAid Air Ambulance medical director after consultation with the attending physician and member's receiving physician."

SkyAid will transport you only when "extensive or urgent medical attention is needed and time-critical, when illness or injury requires treatment by a specialist and/or use of the facilities of other hospitals within 24 hours. The illness or injury must be one where the patient cannot be transported by commercial means."

Anyone under the age of 70 may apply for membership, but due to aircraft weight and size, members must weigh less than 300 pounds. There is no medical checkup. 

SkyAid membership does have additional perks, such as a P20,000 emergency medical fund to help with non-transport costs, 20% off aircraft charter from Airgurus Ltd. Co., and one companion may accompany the patient, at no additional cost, on the medical aircraft if space is available and the patient's care is not compromised.

If you think SkyAid might be for you, more information can be found at their website www.airgurus.com. Either way, there is comfort in knowing that there is a service like this for residents and tourists alike. Not to mention knowing that a larger helicopter will soon be calling Boracay home, halving emergency transport times.

Written by: Nick Brown


Source: Boracay Sun / Island News (Sunboracay Archive Dec-Jan 2011)

To know more about Airgurus' 24/7 air ambulance emergency and non-emergency services, go to www.airgurus.com

Airgurus Air Ambulance: Saving Lives 24/7 in The Philippines

Airgurus Ltd. Co. launched early this year our 24-hours-per-day, 365 days-per-year medical evacuation / medevac services anywhere in the Philippines via the Airgurus Air Ambulance Helicopter services.

Acknowledging the needs of Filipinos during crucial medical situations, our Chief Pilot / President, Capt. Harry Lero added another aircraft for the fleet solely dedicated to our Air Ambulance Service.

With just one call away, every Filipino and foreign residents should know that that if an accident at remote areas (not accessible by larger aircraft requiring runways) or anywhere else in the Philippine Archipelago, a helicopter air ambulance will be able to save lives.

All Airgurus' choppers features state-of-the-art medical equipment and are the only helicopters with litter kit (double deck stretcher) in the Philippines... managed and maintained by highly-trained and experienced  medical flight crews. The same goes with our other aircraft. In the cramped space, our helicopters carry equipment, supplies and medications similar to those found in an intensive care unit such as intravenous pumps, a ventilator, cardiac monitoring and a defibrillator. With our litter kit, there's enough room for two patients if necessary, on stretchers.

Our medical flight doctor, flight nurse/paramedic bring complimentary skills... all are experts of providing medical care in the tight quarters of an air ambulance and knows intensive care units inside out.

To do the safest and dedicated Air Ambulance service in the Philippines, our 24/7 Airgurus Operations staff handles the emergency calls/queries then immediately coordinates/delegate information to our pilots. They then summon our 24/7 medical flight crews (consisting of a medical flight doctor and a flight nurse) and advise  aircraft maintenance mechanics on-duty to double-check aircraft, medical equipment and medical needs of a patient. Fastest response time is 30 minutes and everyone will be ready upon confirmation of a patient's scheduled transfer.

Airgurus does it professionally when it comes to Air Ambulance Services in the Philippines. We are the most experienced in the trade and industry as never a week goes by that we have not transferred patients needing urgent medical attention at apt medical facilities.

Hundreds and/or thousands of feet in the air (depending on what altitude is required per case), our medical flight crews have numerous tales to tell every week...  giving utmost medical care to head trauma cases, heart attack victims, delivering critically-ill children / babies, critically-injured collision victims, scuba diving accident victims and so many more. Doing air ambulance services is always exciting and challenging for our entire operations but it never leaves our minds that we have to deliver everyone throughout their golden hours... the hours between life and death.