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bajatom24
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Registered: 6-14-2017
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Air Ambulance and Evac
Any thoughts on best air ambulance or evacuation services available for Baja travelers. I am sure this has been answered many times but I've been
unable to find a thread with this info. Thanks all.
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Alm
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"Baja travelers"? Like a tourist trip? Most travel insurances will include an evac.
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shari
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Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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a word of advice from me who has arranged a few medivacs over the years...it is best to charter a plane wherever you are instead of waiting for a medi
vac to get organized which in our area is impossible to carry out the same day. Your medivac insurance will be happy too as it is cheaper than sending
the plane from the states...but you have to pay the flight usually first and get reimbursed by your carrier.
Dont waste precious time trying to go through all the hoops you have to jump through to get a plane down.
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TMW
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Sheri, doesn't Binational Emergency Medical Care Committee out of San Diego make the arrangements or hoop jumping as you say. I belong to it as well
as DAN but have never used either.
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JZ
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A couple years ago I read a bunch of stuff on here across various threads and went with MedjetAssist. Can't recall all the reasons why, but it looked
like the best.
[Edited on 6-14-2017 by JZ]
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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oh yeah they arrange it but in order to qualify you have to have a doctor write a medical report and email it to them and the doctor has to order the
evac...this can take a long time & lots of phone calls back and forth etc. Then for them to get a plane ready takes a couple hours and by that
time it may be too late to land before sunset which in our area is a regulation. Every medivac I tried to arrange ended up not being able to come till
the next day...so I opted to arrange a local charter to fly to TJ, the Red Cross is waiting there with an ambulance to go to secondary and an American
ambulance waits there for the transfer.
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Bob and Susan
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the drive to the border is 13 hours from mulege...
a couple of years ago a neighbor came over in the afternoon with a broken leg
we had him in his preferred hospital in san diego early the next morning...
sometimes it's faster if you just drive
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Alm
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Quote: Originally posted by TMW  | | ... doesn't Binational Emergency Medical Care Committee out of San Diego make the arrangements or hoop jumping |
TIME.
Doesn't matter who makes the arrangements - Binational or evac insurance people, there are requirements to be met and pre-flight paper-work to be
done. It takes more than 12 hours from placing a phone call to getting a bed in the US hospital if you are right next to major airport.
Like Bob @Co. noted, driving to the border may take same time if not faster. Air evac are not bush pilots, you have to be near commercial airport.
Not sure it was a legit question though. "Best air ambulance"... for where? for how long trip? Is he looking for a standalone evac plan because isn't
happy with the evac included in his travel insurance (and if so, why), or doesn't want to buy any insurance (and if so, why), and so on. IMO, just
giving some thought to these details would (mostly) answer his question.
[Edited on 6-14-2017 by Alm]
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JZ
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| Quote: Originally posted by Alm | Air evac are not bush pilots, you have to be near commercial airport.
[Edited on 6-14-2017 by Alm] |
Not all of them are equal on this front. Medjet "supposedly" doesn't require commercial airports.
[Edited on 6-14-2017 by JZ]
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bajaguy
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Depends on where you need to be evacuated from. Some outfits won't/can't fly at night. Don't know if that is company policy or Mexican law. Many won't
fly into a dirt strip. I have heard good things about the evacuation insurance from Diver's Alert Network - DAN (you don't have to be a diver to sign
up), however I remember reading about one incident where it took almost 8 hours from the call requesting an evac to wheels up with the patient.
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rhintransit
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy | | Depends on where you need to be evacuated from. Some outfits won't/can't fly at night. Don't know if that is company policy or Mexican law. Many won't
fly into a dirt strip. I have heard good things about the evacuation insurance from Diver's Alert Network - DAN (you don't have to be a diver to sign
up), however I remember reading about one incident where it took almost 8 hours from the call requesting an evac to wheels up with the patient.
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I heard of one incident here in Loreto where no one would agree to 'open' the local, international airport, at night for an evacuation transport.
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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BajaBreak
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The military's no night flying regulation is real. You don't want to get hurt bad in Mexico (of course, like anywhere), but especially not in the
afternoon or evening.
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy | | I remember reading about one incident where it took almost 8 hours from the call requesting an evac to wheels up with the patient.
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and that would be on a good day with the stars aligned!
Which is why whenever this issue comes up I hope to save someone's life with the suggestion to immediately arrange a local airline or charter plane
instead of wasting time trying to get the medivac...after trying for 4-5 hours to arrange it with no success it may be too late to get a local flight.
Once in Guerrero Negro they got a bunch of people to light up the runway with their car headlights in an emergency.
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Pescador
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I have assisted in four emergency evacuations out of the Santa Rosalia area and Shari is right on with the time evaluations. One we got out from
Punta Chivato with a broken leg because there was already a plane on the runway and they were willing to take out a seat so that the patient could lie
down and go. The other three took the ambulance from Santa Rosalia to the border and it was around 12 to 13 hours, with attendants where they were
met at the border in secondary with a US Ambulance. Cost was about $1200 for the Ambulance and with one, the break was severe and she needed a Doctor
to administer pain meds via IVs so she paid the Doctor about $500 for the round trip.
Last year with a stroke victim, we had the person in the ambulance within hours of the stroke, once they knew he was stable, and they made it to the
border with no problems, and 97% recovery.
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woody with a view
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Anyone have recommendations on rattlesnake bites? Is antivenom locally available? Try to arrange a charter or just haul ass to the border?
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bent-rim
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AAA Premier Roadside assistance provides $25,000 worldwide evacuation coverage.
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SFandH
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| Quote: Originally posted by Pescador | I have assisted in four emergency evacuations out of the Santa Rosalia area and Shari is right on with the time evaluations. One we got out from
Punta Chivato with a broken leg because there was already a plane on the runway and they were willing to take out a seat so that the patient could lie
down and go. The other three took the ambulance from Santa Rosalia to the border and it was around 12 to 13 hours, with attendants where they were
met at the border in secondary with a US Ambulance. Cost was about $1200 for the Ambulance and with one, the break was severe and she needed a Doctor
to administer pain meds via IVs so she paid the Doctor about $500 for the round trip.
Last year with a stroke victim, we had the person in the ambulance within hours of the stroke, once they knew he was stable, and they made it to the
border with no problems, and 97% recovery. |
Interesting info, thanks, and the prices certainly seem reasonable.
I'm wondering why the person with the broken leg didn't get it fixed in Santa Rosalia or perhaps Guerrero Negro.
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Alm
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| Quote: Originally posted by JZ | Medjet "supposedly" doesn't require commercial airports.
[Edited on 6-14-2017 by JZ] |
From what I hear, Medjet is rather an average service, no better than others. Commercial or not, it has to be a manned "airport", not a dirt runway.
Which in Baja makes for a very, very short list. That's why I asked the OP where he is going to travel, and haven't heard a peep.
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Alm
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| Quote: Originally posted by SFandH |
Interesting info, thanks, and the prices certainly seem reasonable.
I'm wondering why the person with the broken leg didn't get it fixed in Santa Rosalia or perhaps Guerrero Negro. |
$500 for a doctor's ride wouldn't break the bank. A little overpriced for Mexico, doctors in public hospitals here are getting that much in a MONTH,
though I TAD understand this as prices are jumping up when you're desperate.
$1,200 would be reasonable and even cheap for an air evac. Was it air or exactly an "ambulance to the border"?
I would avoid fixing anything in Sta Rosalia. Small hospital.
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Alm
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| Quote: Originally posted by Pescador |
Last year with a stroke victim, we had the person in the ambulance within hours of the stroke, once they knew he was stable, and they made it to the
border with no problems, and 97% recovery. |
He got very lucky with 97%.
With a stroke the window of opportunity is hours to get a treatment - not to get into an ambulance. 3 hours for ischemic stroke, after that time the
chances of success drop.
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