MercyOne Air Med
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MercyOne Air Med now offers a Maternal Transport Team, providing specialized emergency care 24/7 throughout Iowa for mothers who are experiencing difficult labor conditions.
The program is already making an impact!
This Air Med service – which pairs specifically trained Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) and Maternal teams with our Flight Team and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) – provides much-needed care, especially in rural areas with fewer obstetricians or, where obstetrics is unavailable.
MercyOne Medical Helicopters
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Certified for single-pilot instrument flying, which allow flight in lower weather minimums.
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Cruise speed of 150 knots (165 mph) via twin Pratt and Whitney engines with a total of 1,100 shaft horsepower allowing for faster response times and shorter out of hospital times to and from the patient.
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130 feet cubed passenger cabin allows full-body access to the patient.
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Increased loading areas through the side and rear clamshell doors.
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Self-contained cot allowing for easier ground operations.
Neonatal Transport Team
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Specialty Credentialed for NICU
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Advanced Isolette with Hamilton T1 Ventilator and Nitric capability
Maternal Transport Team
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Specialty Credentialed for Obstetrics
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External Fetal Heart Monitor
All Air Med team members including nurses and paramedics have the following certifications: BLS, ACLS, PALS, NRP, TPATC, CFRN (nurses only) and FP-C (paramedics only).
MercyOne Air Med is committed to providing the highest level of quality patient care in an environment focused on safety and delivering measurable benefits to those we serve. We strive to demonstrate our Core Values to the patients, their families, our customers, coworkers, and the communities we serve.
Our vision is to be the long-lasting leader and preferred provider of air medical transport through world-class service. MercyOne Air Med will set the standard for personalized and convenient air medical transport service.
- Patient has a clinical condition which requires minimization of time spent outside the hospital
- Patient requires specific or time-sensitive evaluation or treatment not available at the referring facility
- Patient is located in an area that is inaccessible to ground transport
- Patient requires critical care life support, which is not available with ground transport options
- Use of local ground transport would leave the area without adequate EMS coverage
- Patient is critically ill or injured requiring specialized services such as a Level 1 Trauma Center, Cath Lab, Stroke Center, PICU or NICU
- From a hospital
- Patient age
- Patient weight
- COVID-19 status
- Diagnosis/Chief Complaint
- Intubated
- Any special equipment needed (i.e., IABP)
- From a Scene
- Requesting agency
- Location of scene
- Type of incident (i.e., motor vehicle accident, medical, etc.)
- Number of patients
- Ground contact
Clinical Capabilities with Air Ambulance
With innovative, personalized bedside care and technology in the air ambulance setting, MercyOne Air Med clinicians can provide ongoing care for patients.
MercyOne Air Med clinicians are trained to utilize the following in-flight:
- External Fetal Heart Monitor
- Advanced Isolette with Hamilton T1 Ventilator and Nitric capability
- Hamilton ventilator
- LUCAS ™ 2 Automatic Chest Compression Device
- 2 units O negative blood (with Belmont® Buddy Lite™ blood warmer)
- H900Zoll X series
- Sapphire IV pump
- C-mac video laryngoscope
- Rapid Sequence Intubation (RSI)
MercyOne Air Med monitors and treats critically ill or injured patients, including:
- Multi-system trauma patients
- Spinal cord injury/neurological patients
- Head injury patients
- Newborn intensive care patients
- High-Risk Obstetrics
- Cardiac, pulmonary and internal medicine patients
- Burn patients
- Limb reattachment patients
- Transplant patients
- Pediatric trauma and medical patients
Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)
Wide Area Augmentation System, or WAAS, is an air navigation aid developed by the Federal Aviation Administration to augment the global positioning system, or GPS. WAAS uses ground-based reference stations and satellite signals to improve accuracy. The system is three times more accurate than a standard instrument landing system, or ILS, approach. With the precision of WAAS capabilities, MercyOne can complete more instrument flight rules (IFR) mission requests with lower weather minimum requirements. MercyOne can fly using IFR into any airport with a published instrument approach or into any of the following MercyOne WAAS landing sites.
- Albia, Monroe County Hospital
- Centerville, MercyOne Centerville Medical Center
- Des Moines, MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center
- Leon, Decatur County Hospital
- Mount Ayr, Ringgold County Hospital
- Osceola, Clarke County Hospital
- Ottumwa, Ottumwa Regional Health Center
- Stuart, Designated Scene LZ
Membership/Insurance Information
Our commitment to patient advocacy ensures that MercyOne Air Med will support patients with resources before, during and after air transport.
We do not sell memberships to ensure we remain focused on delivering rapid transport to all in need. On average, our patients pay very little out-of-pocket for air transport, rarely more than their insurance’s copay or deductible. All patients who are transported by MercyOne Air Med have access to robust Patient Advocacy services to help with post-flight billing process and avoid costly out-of-pocket expenses.
- Each patient has a dedicated patient advocate who walks them through the billing and appeal process from beginning to end.
- Patient advocates work to ensure our patients’ insurance companies do right by our patients, paying their claims when patients need it most.
- Our flexible financial assistance policy helps patients based on their unique situation, minimizing out-of-pocket expenses; there is no patient that we have who doesn’t qualify for some type of assistance.
In-Network Care
MercyOne Air Med is operated by Air Methods, who is an in-network provider with many insurance companies across the country including:
- Avera Health Plans
- DAKOTACARES
- Global Excel
- Management (Travel Insurance)
- Humana, Medical Associates Health Plan
- Plotkin Health
- Total Care of Iowa
- United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)
- Provider Networks of America
- Medical Cost Containment Professionals
- Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Three Rivers Provider Network (TRPN)
- First Choice Health Networks
- Veteran Affairs – South Dakota
Air Methods is in-network with Medicare and Medicaid. A membership is not needed if you Medicare or Medicaid, and patients will only be responsible for their co-payment and deductible (if applicable).
