Who you gonna call?

Editor’s note: Record-Times editor Drew Lawson added to and slightly tweaked this article that ran in the Wilbur Register Thursday, Aug. 4.

DAVENPORT--As of early July, Lincoln County residents have two medical air ambulance services available and area entities are urging everyone to buy memberships for both.

There are differences in membership requirements for each service. In order to get membership in the Life Flight service, people need to sign up and pay the annual fee.

Unlike Life Flight, Airlift Northwest requires those signing up for membership have medical insurance. Airlift Northwest, operated by UW Medicine, is a secondary payer, covering the patient responsibility portion not paid by medical insurance. A patient’s medical insurance must list coverage for emergency medical transportation on the rider.

Approximately 30% of insurance coverages don’t include coverage for emergency medical flights.

Despite the medical insurance requirement for Airlift Northwest, company spokesman Steve LeMay said “We fly anyone, anywhere, regardless of payer source.”

No one will be denied a flight, regardless of membership status.

Airlift offers special assistance programs to financially distressed patients without medical insurance that are transported in an emergency.

In the past year the fund provided approximately $3 million in assistance.

In other cases, LeMay said “we will work with the individual on an amicable payment plan.”

That payment plan comes through an application process for aide, executive director Jeff Richey said.

“If you need help financially, we will work with you through that,” Richey said. “It’s about getting patients to a higher level of care with minutes count.”

People who have Medicaid coverage should not sign up for membership, as Medicaid covers emergency transportation.

Both Airlift Northwest and Life Flight are non-profit companies that offer helicopter transport with medically trained people on board.

Life Flight has been in operation in the Lincoln County area for over 40 years. This company operates all over the Pacific Northwest and is owned by a consortium of Oregon medical services.

Their annual fee is $75. Membership can be given as a gift to others.

Life Flight comes from a base at Felts Field in Spokane or from Moses Lake.

Airlift Northwest is celebrating its 40th year of operation and operates in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The annual fee is $60.

This new Lincoln County service has a base at the Davenport Airport and secondary support in Wenatchee.

Many locals plan to cover their bases and buy both coverages.

“That would be the smartest thing to do,” commissioner Rob Coffman, a longtime EMT, said.

Before the second air ambulance service went into operation this July, County Dispatch only had one service to deal with in a situation where emergency air support was requested. Now that there are two services, those is charge have had discussions to determine which service is called for.

“We have asked local fire and EMS to indicate which service they would like sent and Dispatch will contact them,” interim Sheriff Gabe Gants said.

The county authorities will utilize both services and are glad to have them, but in a life and death emergency, local EMS may request the closest available helicopter.

In Davenport, this is likely to always be AirLift Northwest due to its local presence. In fact, ambulance supervisor Lance Strite said he’s instructed his crews to make them the first call.

“I’ve instructed my crews to always call AirLift Northwest first,” Strite said. “If you need a helicopter, that means you need medical attention as soon as possible.”

The situation is different in Odessa because the hospital has a rolling exclusivity contract with LifeFlight, EMS supervisor Miranda Taylor said.

“According to the contract, we have to call LifeFlight first and then they have to be the ones to contact AirLift Northwest,” Taylor said.

Commissioner Scott Hutsell said Monday that the county struck a deal with AirLift for helicopter coverage through 2022. The county doesn’t plan to offer both memberships as part of its employee medical insurance plan in 2023, he said.