Definitive Care
What is definitive care? In the public safety realm of emergency medical care, Definitive Care is care rendered to conclusively manage a patient’s condition which generally includes curative, convalescent, and rehabilitative medical care.
When you have a traumatic or medical event, not all hospitals are the same. Being in a rural setting such as Jasper County, your treatment and recovery can be dependent on which facility you go to first and how fast you get there.
Having a stroke? Getting you to a stroke center is our highest priority. Having an active heart attack? Getting you to a Cardiac Care Center is priority. Have you been involved in a traumatic accident? We want to get you to the right Trauma Center where they are prepared for advanced intervention.
Now there are innumerable variables as to why certain facilities can or cannot be chosen at the time of the incident, and being in such a rural area sometimes requires us to go to the closest facility for stabilization before being transferred to another more appropriate location.
I share all this to get to this very important point: Air ambulances. Jasper County is obviously rural and getting to definitive care for advanced medical and traumatic issues is, on average, greater than 40 minutes depending on what part of the county we’re coming from.
Jasper County has two different companies that respond to our emergencies depending on availability and distance. AirEvac and AirMethods are both nationwide companies who provide life-saving transports when time truly is the determining factor. They also carry units of blood if the patient needs it. With advanced care comes higher costs.
While most private insurance will cover a portion of the transport, having the entire cost covered is slim to none. With average cost of air transport running $25,000, knowing that both agencies offer annual memberships is outstanding! Their memberships average $80/year and it covers EVERYONE in your household for as many trips needed. It’s the cheapest, most-valuable insurance you can have.
There are many local governments who have purchased a city-wide or county-wide plan at a reduced cost and tack it onto the citizens tax bill. Even if Jasper County wouldn’t pursue this, it is something you should do for your family…today.
Be diligent, be prepared, be safe Jasper.
