Quik Flight

1/16/2005
By: Vince Gallagher
Capital News 9

At Albany International Airport, it's common to see many planes arriving and departing each day. But the airport also has a special area known as the Aircraft Service International Group. It's here where an air service ambulance plane, known as Quik Flight, is stored. Chandler Atkins is the president of this company, and we met with him to find out about this unique service.

"It's fixed wing air ambulance, which means we're not a helicopter. So if there's an accident in Warren or Washington County, a car accident, we're not going to fly out someplace and pick somebody up," he explained.

But what Quik Flight does do is supply air transport to patients who need the services of specialized health care centers, such as Albany Medical Center. They also supply service to anyone who cannot be transported by a regular commercial flight. Along with a mandatory stretcher in the plane, there are all sorts of medical equipment that are used, including a vent, which aids in breathing, an IV system, and another important ingredient -- oxygen. But all the medical equipment is of little use without a professional medical staff.

"Maybe we need a respiratory therapist, maybe we need a critical care nurse for this particular patient, the other night we needed a doctor on board, so we took a doctor on board," Atkins said.

With access to the runway so close, patients can be brought in to the plane, just as the plane can instantly leave the runway. But like any important medical service, there's always a question of cost.

"About 80 percent of the cost would come from a medical facility asking us tot transport. Now if the transport has been authorized by the doctor, requested by the doctor, then in many instances it's covered by Blue Cross, Blue Shield, and for instance CDPHP covered this particular trip," Atkins said.

A trip that can be a life saving one for those in need.

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