CALSTAR/REACH Air Ambulance BARF Membership

CALSTAR/REACH

CALSTAR/REACH

Flying for you
Not a problem

LakeMerrit said:
Just signed up!

It was a bit confusing on the signup when I went to add my wife, the "relation" options were "secondary" and "other." I think I put secondary, but may have put other. Hope it's copacetic.

Thanks for doing what you do.
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Thank you for getting signed up, you are a smart man!!! There should not be any problems with they way information is input. :)
 
CALSTAR/REACH

CALSTAR/REACH

Flying for you
News Release 7/25/18

THIS IS EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!

WATSONVILLE >> CALSTAR Air Medical Services is working to open an air medical transport base at Watsonville Municipal Airport this fall.
“We want to be closer to Santa Cruz County residents,” said John Bettencourt, regional director of service delivery at Reach Holdings, CALSTAR’s parent company.
Santa Cruz County does not have a trauma center, so anyone seriously injured in a highway crash or suffering a gunshot wound are taken to facilities in Salinas or San Jose. If the transport is via helicopter, that ride can cost $30,000, according to the U.S. General Accountability Office.


CALSTAR air medical transports are a subscription service.
A member pays $85 a year; that covers out-of-pocket expenses for a medically-necessary flight by providers in the 320-base AirMedCare Network for anyone in the household. For senior households, the price is $65 a year.
Dr. Dave Ghilarducci, EMS medical director with the Santa Cruz County EMS Agency, welcomes CALSTAR.
“This is advantageous because it would shorten response times for air ambulances, provide increased availability, and on foggy days when an ambulance can’t fly,” he said, noting the current ambulance provider, AMR, determined Santa Cruz County has the traffic volume to support the new service.


Recruiting began last month for pilots, flight nurses, paramedics and an aircraft maintenance technician to staff the new Watsonville base.
CALSTAR’s plans call for an Airbus EC 135 helicopter. That model can carry two crew and two patients and is capable of flight under instrument flight rules and with GPS for transports to and from Dominican Hospital in inclement weather.
CALSTAR has been servicing Santa Cruz County from its air medical transport base in Salinas, and Anna McNamara-Blair, the vice president of service delivery, is familiar with the area, having grown up in Santa Cruz and started her career as a volunteer firefighter in the San Lorenzo Valley.


Rayvon Williams, Watsonville Airport manager, said he reached out to CALSTAR in 2016 and began discussions but it wasn’t until this year that CALSTAR decided to go ahead.
“I saw the consolidation in the industry,” said Williams.
CALSTAR became a subsidiary in 2016 of REACH Air Medical, a privately held company and part of Air Medical Group Holdings, a company in the portfolio of global investment firm KKR since 2015.
AMR, which provides ambulance service in three dozen states including Santa Cruz County, has been owned by Air Medical Group Holdings since March.




PRICING

The agency found the median price charged for helicopter air ambulance service doubled from $15,000 in 2010 to $30,000 in 2014.


My comments:
****This is why Membership is so important and saves thousands of dollars, with no out of pocket cost when you are a Membership.

Get signed up today!!!
https://www.amcnrep.com/tracy-shearer
Coupon/Group Code: 11380-CA-BUS
 
RVFRick

RVFRick

Well-known member
I'm still not convinced your insurance is worth buying. I ride 100% of my miles in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Heck, I spend 99% of my waking hours here.

I get that helicopter flights are expensive and that by having insurance I could save a fortune. But your product only makes sense to me if you operate in the areas I play. Does your helicopter network operate in my counties? Are they the first responders for helicopter needs in my counties? Are they secondary responders? Thanks.
 
CALSTAR/REACH

CALSTAR/REACH

Flying for you
Morning RVFRick,

I understand your concerns. The bases that cover those areas:
Oakland
Concord
Gilroy
Watsonville
*When thinking of these bases, don't think road miles, think nautical miles.

Our helicopters are dispatched by 911, first responders, or doctors at the hospital. We also have auto launch zones, and we are automatically dispatched, in remote areas. Membership is valid in 38 states, and make a great value if you travel for work or pleasure. Driving a motorcycle has it risks, for sure, but lets think about everyday driving. A lot of people commute everyday to work, and we hear the accidents everyday on the radio. Sometimes the HWY's has to closed to land our helicopters to pick up car accident victims. Or we will rendezvous with a ground ambulance to transfer a patient onto our helicopter for transport.

We always recommend you carry you membership card with your drivers license, so when a first responder knows your coverage. If you are in the hospital and need a transport, notify the doctor of your coverage.

I hope this answers your concerns

Safe RIDES!!!!
 
NorCalBusa

NorCalBusa

Member #294
RVFRick said:
I'm still not convinced your insurance is worth buying. I ride 100% of my miles in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Heck, I spend 99% of my waking hours here.

I get that helicopter flights are expensive and that by having insurance I could save a fortune. But your product only makes sense to me if you operate in the areas I play. Does your helicopter network operate in my counties? Are they the first responders for helicopter needs in my counties? Are they secondary responders? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Let's say you get hit while dead stopped at Pescadero and Hwy 1. Once the ambulance arrives, packages you and hits the road to Stanford (the nearest Trauma Center- an hour's drive Code 3)- your Golden Hour (best save outcome) has been past for some time. Oh wait, the Golden Hour started way back when you first got hit. Do the math... :thumbup
 
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thedub

thedub

Octane Socks
NorCalBusa said:
Let's say you get hit while dead stopped at Pescadero and Hwy 1. Once the ambulance arrives, packages you and hits the road to Stanford (the nearest Trauma Center- an hour's drive Code 3)- your Golden Hour (best save outcome) has been past for some time. Oh wait, the Golden Hour started way back when you first got hit. Do the math... :thumbup
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Well, they would still fly him if that's what's best for the patient, regardless of what membership programs he is/is not a part of. Just a matter of who pays.
 
CALSTAR/REACH

CALSTAR/REACH

Flying for you
Because we are part of the EMS, we will transport patients whether you are a member or not. Member's do not get the bill and well if your not a Member....good luck. Insurance doesn't cover a whole lot. At least you can eliminate one medical bill from the other ones you will have from the scenario. Membership is such a small amount of money and save thousands.

Funny we pay more for our cell phone bills monthly, when this is a small amount yearly that covers the household and can save thousands. Truly is a "NO BRAINER" really.
 
RVFRick

RVFRick

Well-known member
CALSTAR/REACH said:
Morning RVFRick,

I understand your concerns. The bases that cover those areas:
Oakland
Concord
Gilroy
Watsonville
*When thinking of these bases, don't think road miles, think nautical miles.

Our helicopters are dispatched by 911, first responders, or doctors at the hospital. We also have auto launch zones, and we are automatically dispatched, in remote areas.
Click to expand...
I'm carrying out my due diligence to see if your product makes sense for me. It's not the money (yes, cheap if I use it but wasteful if it simply doesn't apply to my locations). Simply it's whether your network covers my area. I don't yet see it's for me at this point.

I have experienced a helicopter trauma flight decades ago so I do have first hand experience. It was all covered under insurance back then.

Perhaps I need to reach out to dispatchers e.g. 911 and first responders in the areas and ask them if/when they would reach out to Calstar.

Can you comment why Calstar doesn't have bases at the major metropolitan trauma centers for Silicon Valley: San Jose Valley Med & Regional Medical Center nor Palo Alto's Stanford? Has Calstar in or been in negotiations with these medical providers?

NorCalBusa said:
Let's say you get hit while dead stopped at Pescadero and Hwy 1. Once the ambulance arrives, packages you and hits the road to Stanford (the nearest Trauma Center- an hour's drive Code 3)- your Golden Hour (best save outcome) has been past for some time. Oh wait, the Golden Hour started way back when you first got hit. Do the math... :thumbup
Click to expand...
Doing my due diligence and research. I am sensitive to market rhetoric and hype. I found this interesting read
https://www.aviationlawmonitor.com/...other-myths-from-the-ems-helicopter-industry/

CALSTAR/REACH said:
Because we are part of the EMS, we will transport patients whether you are a member or not. Member's do not get the bill and well if your not a Member....good luck. Insurance doesn't cover a whole lot. At least you can eliminate one medical bill from the other ones you will have from the scenario. Membership is such a small amount of money and save thousands.

Funny we pay more for our cell phone bills monthly, when this is a small amount yearly that covers the household and can save thousands. Truly is a "NO BRAINER" really.
Click to expand...
:laughing Allow me to use my brain to see if this makes sense for me.

NorCalBusa said:
Hence, "do the math".
Click to expand...
:thumbup Doing the math

Would love to hear from Barfers who have had a helicopter trauma flight bike related or not? Apologies for not having read this entire thread.
 
NorCalBusa

NorCalBusa

Member #294
Helicopter evacs are not common in metro areas- access is daunting and ground ambulances can load and go making quick time to trauma centers (which are typically in metro areas). Stanford LifeFlight is a good example- in a metro, but sits on the edge of the Santa Cruz mountains as well- the bulk of their flights are interfacility, feeding their own specialty centers who give a very high level of care, but if they are available, they'll go grab someone off the mountain if needed.

Your interesting read is written by a lawyer who sues ambulances and air med folks for a living. It's also an 8 year old article. You might go chat with some ER nurses/doctors, especially at trauma centers, and see if they think Golden Hour is nonsense. Or flight crews- chat them up at an event or at the track if they're there. Let us know. I can tell you Gary Jaehne might be alive today if he wasn't crashed out on the ground for hours before help got to him and to the hospital. We'll never know for Gary, we know time does matter.

Hey, if spending $75 a year is too steep or doesn't make sense- don't do it. But know that expense isn't just for you, it supports the air program overall so anyone needing an air ambulance- there's one in business and available for their call. It also supports everyone under your roof, as they are members too.

PS- I've loaded a half dozen people into air ambulances on Hwy 25 and elsewhere. Most made it and have good recovery and outcome stories. Some did not. Some died on the scene before any help could arrive. Some are/were BARF'ers.
 
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RVFRick

RVFRick

Well-known member
NorCalBusa said:
Helicopter evacs are not common in metro areas- access is daunting and ground ambulances can load and go making quick time to trauma centers (which are typically in metro areas). Stanford LifeFlight is a good example- in a metro, but sits on the edge of the Santa Cruz mountains as well- the bulk of their flights are interfacility, feeding their own specialty centers who give a very level of care, but if they are available, they'll go grab someone off the mountain if needed.

Your interesting read is written by a lawyer who sues ambulances and air med folks for a living. It's also an 8 year old article. You might go chat with some ER nurses/doctors, especially at trauma centers, and see if they think Golden Hour is nonsense. Or flight crews- chat them up at an event or at the track if they're there. Let us know. I can tell you Gary Jaehne might be alive today if he wasn't crashed out on the ground for hours before help got to him and to the hospital. We'll never know for Gary, we know time does matter.

Hey, if spending $75 a year is too steep or doesn't make sense- don't do it. But know that expense isn't just for you, it supports the air program overall so anyone needing an air ambulance- there's one in business and available for their call. It also supports everyone under your roof, as they are members too.

PS- I've loaded a half dozen people into air ambulances on Hwy 25 and elsewhere. Most made it and have good recovery and outcome stories. Some did not. Some died on the scene before any help could arrive. Some are/were BARF'ers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the cogent reply. It puts in perspective that almost all my time is spent in the metro area and dispatching a helicopter may be rare. Having said that, my helicopter evac decades ago to Valley Med happened after my crash on Bear Creek road somewhere between Los Gatos and Boulder Creek. Best I recall it took 20 minutes for CHP to arrive, +25 for EMT and +40 before I was finally airlifted. My point being it takes time for help to arrive. Luckily I was riding with two friends who had my back.

I'm saddened to hear that there was a delay in help arriving for Gary. I have fond memories of riding and brunching with his Squid Hunters posse a half dozen times back in the late 90s. Gary gave me pointers and advice which made an lasting impression on me. RIP Gary J..

The cost for Calstar is minimal. The fact that it covers family is a bonus. I don't want to assume Calstar is relevant for me. Knowing real world stats beyond marketing rhetoric or hearing from those who've directly benefited from Calstar would be convincing.

p.s. your mention of loading riders onto helicopters jogged an incident that happened during an impromptu group ride somewhere in the east bay that involved a helicopter evac. Rider1 got bumped from behind by Rider2. I missed the incident pulled up to see Rider2's bike down and him running around in a panic and shouting that Rider1 went down and was missing. We scrambled to search for the missing rider and found his bike down a hill and the rider unconscious with his neck unbelievably bent and compressed such that he couldn't breath - his face rapidly turning purple. Luckily we were able to re-position him and he started to breath on his own. I heard through the grapevine that the victim didn't remember a thing but made a full recovery. So, yeah, I get it, time matters - even seconds.
 
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