WEEK FIVE – Air Ambulance 

You are the CEO of a major not for profit academic healthcare institution and the referral hospital for smaller hospitals receiving complicated trauma and medical patients.

Your VP of Operations is considering the formation of an air ambulance program using helicopters to transport trauma victims from scenes (e.g. motor vehicle accidents or shootings) as well as patients from smaller outlying hospitals who need a higher level of care (e.g., a patient at a small hospital with pneumonia who now needs complex ICU care). The air ambulance system could cover your county and the five surrounding counties. Currently, emergency transportation in your county is by a county government run EMS system and a small number of private ambulance services. Significant traffic congestion in your community often results in delays in transport.

Before embarking on the project, who are the stakeholders you would want to approach and what arguments would you use to achieve buy in from each group? What resistance would you anticipate? From your internet research, what cost problems occur with air ambulance programs and what sources of reimbursement are available? What institutional advantages and disadvantages need to be considered before proceeding with the program?