Air Ambulance Company Provides Service At No Out-of-Pocket Expense To Family

On Wednesday, October 10, 2012, an Angel MedFlight medically-equipped Learjet 60 air ambulance left Scottsdale Airport (KSDL) on a flight that safely transported parents Michael and Carmen Matthews and their quintuplets over 2,000 miles back home to anxiously awaiting family and friends in Wilmington, NC. The family incurred no out-of-pocket expenses for the ride.

After being told by doctors in North Carolina that the birth of quintuplets would be too dangerous, the parents were forced to make a decision. Carmen and Mike Matthews left North Carolina and traveled to Banner Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa, AZ—one of the premier organizations capable of handling multiple births.

All five children were born on September 6, between 7:25 and 7:27am. At birth the smallest baby, Rucker, weighed-in at only 2 pounds, 2 ounces. Due to the low birth weight, Rucker has since been in neonatal intensive care at Banner Cardon. With time and specialized care his weight has improved to the current weight of 3 pounds, 8.5 ounces. "It took us over two years to get here. And more than one doctor told us we shouldn't have kept all five of them,” new dad Mike Matthews said. “But they are all here and they're all healthy."

A claims specialists at Angel MedFlight found insurance coverage for the flight home, resulting in no cost to the family. In the air, neonatal flight nurse practitioners/neonatal flight paramedics helped make the trip safe and comfortable for the babies and parents. “Our team of nurse case managers and insurance specialists work in a joint effort with families and insurance companies to facilitate medical flights,” Allison M. Rose RN, BSN, MHSM, Case Manager / Chief Flight Coordinator said. “Patients and families contact us in times of crisis and we do everything possible to ensure their needs are taken care of, both medically and financially.”

Angel MedFlight said that transporting quintuplets and their parents over 2,000 miles on the same critical care medical flight presented a unique challenge. The medically configured Learjet 60 air ambulance provided the vital high altitude and high speed capabilities required for such a delicate patient transfer.

FMI: www.angelmedflight.com