If you are injured in the San Juan Islands you may have to be medevaced to a hospital or trauma center on the mainland. For minor injuries an ambulance can be used in conjunction with the state ferry system to transport you. Several local pilots can also ferry ‘walking wounded’ to the mainland using their personal planes. But life-threatening injuries will require fast transport with onboard paramedics or nurses to monitor your condition as you travel.
If you or a family member is seriously ill or injured in San Juan County, air medical transportation is the fastest way to get you off island and to the nearest medical facility. Weather permitting, Airlift Northwest responds within minutes. Although this life-saving service comes with a high price tag AirCare has created a solution that benefits everyone. Currently, the flight costs $8000 on an average.
Why AirCare?
Under the AirCare program, when Airlift Northwest is requested by a medical facility or an emergency response team to fly a critically ill or injured patient to appropriate medical care, the portion of the Airlift Northwest bill that isn’t covered by insurance or Medicare is paid through the membership. The membership covers both fixed wing and rotary wing transport in the state of Washington.
A one-year membership in AirCare is $79 and covers all members of a household*. A 24-month membership is $155.
* Household members are permanent residents of the same dwelling/noncommercial residence living together as part of a family unit. This does not include roomers or boarders.
More about Airlift Northwest
More about Aircare
Joan Berkowitz of Orcas Island
At one point a few years ago
Airlift Northwest had to withdraw service to the San Juan
Islands after complicated state legislation classed it as
insurance, and required complicated insurance licensing.
Joan helped change Washington state law when she advocated
for a legislative change that would exempt flight
membership programs from extensive insurance code
licensing. The law took effect in July 2006, but it was a
five-year project for Joan, a resident of Orcas Island.
“When you live on an island, you look after each other,”
she explains. “I have been a director for Orcas Island
Medical Center Association and a volunteer at the clinic
for years. I could see how important air transport was to
the people there.” Joan was transported by Airlift
Northwest in September 2005, when her blood pressure
suddenly spiked, long after she began her work in changing
state law for others. “We don’t have a paved highway to the
emergency room here,“ she says. “The membership service is
very important for a lot of people.”