Cleveland Clinic Introduces Membership Programs for Critical Care Air Rescue and Evacuation Service

CLEVELAND, Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleveland Clinic has launched the Global Care Air Rescue and Evacuation (CARE) program, which provides paid program members immediate access to Cleveland Clinic's comprehensive critical care program if they are faced with a medical emergency while traveling more than 150 miles from their home.

Global CARE members will receive access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to specialized care by Cleveland Clinic physicians, nurse practitioners and critical care nurses through uninterrupted service via a diverse fleet of vehicles including ground ambulance, helicopter, and fixed-winged jets. The jets are outfitted to provide comprehensive intensive care during national and international transports.

Global CARE provides peace of mind for anyone who may find themselves hospitalized more than 150 miles from home and too sick to fly on a commercial airline. There are no deductibles or co-pays for the transport. Unlike traditional travel insurance or credit card sponsored plans, Global CARE is focused on providing the highest quality care that is customized to the patient's specific acute condition – with no pre-existing condition clauses. Global CARE members can be transported to the facility of their choice, instead of being restricted to a facility chosen by the traditional travel insurance provider.

Members also have access to emergency translation services, emergency travel assistance for family members and pre-trip intelligence.  

"Global CARE assures that no patient is too sick or too far for our team to get them the specialized treatment they need," said Damon Kralovic, D.O., Medical Director of Critical Care Transport, Cleveland Clinic. "Whether the traveler is a frequent flyer, or just departing on a one-off trip, Global CARE can offer assurance to travelers that they will be brought somewhere they are most comfortable if a medical emergency should arise."

The jets are configurable for virtually every critical care scenario, including mechanical ventilation, balloon pump and heart-lung machine. This provides Cleveland Clinic the flexibility of transporting a wide variety of cases from a premature infant to an adult on a heart lung machine. The clinical expertise of the team, coupled with the technology, makes it possible to transport patients who normally would not have the opportunity to travel due to the extreme severity of their condition. Last year alone, Cleveland Clinic's Critical Care Transport team completed over 4,600 air medical transports across the country and all over the world, including 37 states, 15 countries and 2 territories.

For more information please visit, www.clevelandclinic.org/globalcare.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. It was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. About 2,100 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. In addition to its main campus, Cleveland Clinic operates nine regional hospitals and 15 Family Health Centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and opening in 2012, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2009, there were more than 4.6 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 170,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 100 countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org.

SOURCE Cleveland Clinic