First nonprofit air ambulance in TN showcased in Humboldt
HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — We took a trip to Humboldt Municipal Airport to take a look at the new Lifeflight 8 aircraft and learn more about its services.
It’s the new H135 aircraft operating as the first nonprofit air ambulance in the state of Tennessee.
The service covers a 75 mile radius from the base, but they will fly patients anywhere they need to go and it’s always the closest most appropriate receiving facility.
It’s a team of six flight crew members, with four flight nurse practitioners who are duel certified.
According to the Lifeflight 8 policy, they do their own billing in network, with all the major insurance providers focusing more on the healthcare side of it and not financial burdens for the patients.
“It would be up to the provider that is providing care to you at that time if they deem it necessary to transfer you to a higher level of care. There’s been a misconception that because we’re part of Vanderbilt that we only fly patients back to Vanderbilt. But, if we were to do a trauma patient right out here on Highway 45, we would take that person to Memphis just because that is the closest trauma facility,” explained Taylor Teel, paramedic and base lead for Vanderbilt Lifeflight 8.
The Lifeflight team undergoes a series of skill labs, an advanced team of dynamic monitoring, and 10 to 12 hours of patient scenarios to provide the best patient care possible.
