Fast Facts on the leading U.S. Air Ambulance

In 1983, Captain Jeff Tolbert, founder and CEO of AirMed International, identified a need for dedicated fixed-wing medical air service after he flew the first heart transplant patient in the Southeastern United States to UAB Medical Center. In 1987, Tolbert was the first in the U.S. to operate civilian jet aircraft equipped exclusively for medical transportation and also operated the first civilian aircraft equipped with a medical liquid-oxygen system.

In 1991, Tolbert pioneered the concept of offering medical air-evacuation membership coverage to U.S. citizens and corporations after a client suffered financial hardship paying for his son’s evacuation from Afghanistan. Shortly thereafter, Alabama native Tolbert founded the Birmingham-based company, MEDJet. In 1998, this company split into two distinct companies, MEDjet Assistance and MEDjet International with Tolbert heading up the latter. In an effort to alleviate confusion and to better serve our customers, MEDjet International was renamed AirMed International LLC in 2003. Based on Tolbert’s vision, AirMed quickly grew to become the country’s premier air ambulance service. It is privately owned and operated.

As an AirMed member, if you are sick or injured while traveling, AirMed will get you home to your family, your doctors, your local hospital. It’s as simple as that. Not only will we transport you home from another country, AirMed’s coverage includes domestic transport to specialty hospitals and clinics within the U.S. and Canada. AirMed provides world-class transportation and the most experienced medical teams in the air—bedside-to-beside.

AirMed operates two distinct lines of business: a fee-for-service air medical transport service and a prepaid membership program called AirMed Traveler (AMT). Both provide air ambulance services to patients anywhere in the world.

The AirMed medical team assumes medical care at the releasing hospital, continues appropriate medical care to the aircraft via ground transportation and during flight, and admits the patient to the receiving hospital. All of this is available 24 hours per day, every day of the year.

AirMed Evacuation and Repatriation Memberships, AirMed Traveler

An AirMed membership uniquely brings patients to a hospital of their choice, not to the “nearest appropriate facility” as is the case for most travel insurance. AirMed memberships cost as little as $95 with no out-of-pocket costs or co-pays, no financial limitations and no “medical necessity” requirements. Medical evacuation coverage has never been more important for travelers of all ages.

AirMed Traveler (AMT) members can opt for a short-term plan, which covers only one trip, or pay an annual fee that provides a maximum of two evacuations per year. Individual annual memberships cost $250; family memberships, which cover two adults and up to five dependents younger than 19 or up to age 23 if a full-time student, are $350. Customized pricing is available to any organizations or groups, and AirMed also offer plans for students studying abroad.

AirMed Air Medical Transportation Services and International Air Ambulance

Anyone requiring a medical evacuation may utilize AirMed services on a fee-for-service basis. Trip rates are based on many factors, including distance, airfield accessibility, ground transportation costs, and crew requirements. Transport rates may range from $6,000 for a regional evacuation in the Southeast U.S. to approximately $150,000 for an international trip from Asia to the U.S.

AirMed is trusted by the most well-respected hospitals and corporations in the world for all of their air medical transport needs.

Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, AirMed owns and operates a fleet of fixed-wing Hawker, King Air, and Beechjet aircraft found at its 5 bases in Hong Kong, Cleveland, Ohio, Honolulu, Hawaii, Rochester, Minnesota and Birmingham. Each plane is permanently equipped to provide a state-of-the-art intensive care unit environment and is used exclusively for medical evacuation. The Hawker 800 is the largest U.S. registered ICU equipped aircraft and provides a stand-up cabin and enclosed lavatory for crew and patient family members.

Unlike other air medical companies, all flight crews, medical personnel, and support staff are AirMed employees. The staff has conducted more than 15,000 medical transports and evacuations, visiting 100+ countries on six continents. AirMed employs its own FAA licensed dispatchers, flight operations, maintenance, and medical communications center, open 24/7, 365 days a year.

Medical Jets

The permanently equipped, specialized aircraft allow for the treatment and transport of all types of patients including critically ill neonates, cardiac patients, trauma patients, and ventilator-dependent patients. Custom liquid oxygen systems allow for longer flights without the need to replenish oxygen supplies. The Hawker 800 aircraft can carry up to 2 patients simultaneously.

AirMed International, which has worldwide operating authority from the Federal Aviation Administration, is a preferred air carrier for the U.S. Department of Defense, and the only worldwide Commission of Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS)-accredited air ambulance provider with a membership program.

AirMed operates the fixed-wing programs for two of the nation's top hospitals, supplying all flight, maintenance and dispatch employees for these highly respected programs. AirMed was chosen as the exclusive air transport service for the famed Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Consistently ranked one of the nation's top hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic selected AirMed to operate the fixed-wing component of its Critical Care Transport and Organ Procurement programs.  AirMed has also signed agreements with BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama and Tennessee to provide medical evacuation benefits to their employees and covered individuals and has been endorsed by major companies and associations across the country.

In 2007 and 2008, AirMed received the 'Air Ambulance Provider of the Year" award from a panel of international judges--an unprecedented two years in a row. In 2008, AirMed received the AAMS (Association of Air Medical Services) Community Service Award for its creation of the free, public service industry-wide website for weather related reporting, www.weatherturndown.com.  Also in 2008, Jeffrey Tolbert was selected 'Executive of the Year' by the Birmingham Business Journal, and AirMed was named one of the Companies of the Year by the same publication.

In addition, AirMed has established a network of more than 55 affiliate providers around the world to guarantee optimal care as urgency dictates to its 1 million-plus members.