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Medical repatriation case studies
Medical transport of a comatose patient in India
An Indian-Canadian patient suffers a brain bleed while visiting family in the mountains of India. A neuro-surgeon in a small hospital performs multiple life-saving surgeries. By the time the patient is stable enough to be transported back to Canada, no insurance coverage is left for the repatriation. An aeromedical company, recommended by the hospital, offers an air ambulance for a price that the family can only afford if they sell their house.
The family reaches out to JET COMPANION for a second opinion on medical transport options. The conference call between multiple doctors that follows reveals that the patient can be safely transported on a stretcher onboard a commercial flight. The family secures an emergency loan and a JET COMPANION aeromedical team is deployed to India. The next day the comatose patient is escorted on an 8-hour ambulance ride to the city and a 15-hour flight to Canada, with uninterrupted hospital-like care. After arriving in Canada, the patient is admitted to a hospital without any issues.
Medical evacuation to Canada after a bad fall on a Caribbean cruise
A Canadian group of friends is on a Caribbean cruise when one of the friends trips and falls onboard the ship and breaks a leg in several spots. He is disembarked two days later on an island and to his horror learns that his travel insurance will not cover the surgery. JET COMPANION is called into action to organize a medical evacuation to Canada, and one of our Spanish-speaking flight nurses flies to the Caribbean the very next morning. Less then 24 hours after the initial call, we arrive at bedside, to get the patient ready for transport. The patient is picked up by an ambulance the next day and our flight nurse provides patient care on three flights on the way to the final destination in Canada, including a layover in a hotel in Toronto.
Medical repatriation after a horseback riding accident in the USA
A young Colombian day laborer suffers a horseback riding accident in the USA and is airlifted to a trauma center in life-threatening condition. Months later, a non-profit organization joins forces with the hospital to bring the patient back to Colombia. The medical repatriation request comes in at JET COMPANION and we start looking for the most cost-effective way to transport this patient on a commercial flight.
The patient, still in need of long term care, is picked up by a JET COMPANION flight nurse, and all arrangement are made with the airline to transport the patient to Bogota, where a Colombian ambulance crew takes over the patient for a long distance ground transfer into a rural area that is considered a no-go zone for foreigners due to the presence of armed rebel groups. The patient makes it back home safely and is reunited with his family.
Long distance flight for a patient with early onset dementia in Hong Kong
A Canadian expat in Hong Kong starts developing symptoms of early onset dementia to the point that she can no longer live alone. Her condition is rapidly declining and her family decides to bring her back to Canada, and admit her into a care facility, specialized in this type of dementia. The transfer is carefully planned for several months and as soon as a spot becomes available at the residence, a JET COMPANION flight nurse flies to Hong Kong to pick her up. By then the dementia has progressed significantly, and the patient needs to be fully assisted with all activities of daily living. The family is especially concerned about the patient’s incontinence while not being able to stand up or follow instructions. At JET COMPANION we are prepared to take the lead in these situations. Every aspect of in-flight care is planned for based on individual needs and that’s why this patient’s long distance transfer to Canada is uneventful and stress-free.
Nurse escort for a patient with a mental health crisis in Japan
A German tourist’s trip to Japan is cut short when she suffers a mental breakdown. She is admitted to a hospital, but a language barrier makes it difficult to treat her. It is important that she is brought back to Germany as soon as possible so she can be seen by her own psychiatrist.
A risk assessment is done, and the patient is declared fit to fly with a medical escort who can provide individual support and medication if needed. While the final preparations are made for the transfer, one of JET COMPANION’s flight nurses with a background in psychiatry is deployed to Japan. A few days later the patient and her nurse escort fly back to Germany with only one stopover. To everyone’s relief no intervention is needed other than one-to-one support, and the journey is uneventful.
Airline stretcher service for a terminally ill patient in Tanzania
A Canadian missionary spends 10 years doing volunteer community work in a village in East-Africa, when she is diagnosed with cancer. She refuses treatment at a local hospital and her friends find her weeks later, at a primitive farm house, in a lot of pain and distress, and in the care of a local traditional healer.
JET COMPANION is contacted, and immediately starts the difficult task of gathering objective medical information and assessing if the lady is fit to fly back to Canada. A local doctor is contracted and blood work reveals that a few problems need to be addressed before the patient can fly. A week later, airline stretcher service and in-flight oxygen is arranged, and a JET COMPANION flight nurse flies to Tanzania equipped with medical equipment and strong symptom relief medication.
A local ambulance picks up the patient in the village and brings her to Dar Es Salaam where our flight nurse takes over patient care. A stopover in the Middle East is used to fresh up the patient at the pre-booked airport medical center, and to finalize a few last minute preparations, before boarding the transatlantic flight to Canada.
The patient arrives in Canada later that evening and is brought to a local hospital for an assessment. We later hear that she is transferred to a hospice for end of life care, and a month later she dies peacefully and in dignity, which was the sole reason why her friends had arranged her repatriation.
Medical charter to celebrate one last Christmas with family in Quebec
A 90-year old gentleman with terminal cancer feels quite solitary at his home in the USA. His family in Montreal feels that the only gift that would be meaningful to him, before he passes away is to spend valuable time together and pamper him one last time.
A decision is made that a commercial flight is not a safe option, but flying on a private charter with personalized medical care onboard is. Via JET COMPANION’s network a turboprop aircraft is found, capable of flying the route without a fuel stop, but still within the budget of the family. A JET COMPANION flight nurse is then deployed to meet the patient in the USA and fly back to Canada, with all necessary equipment and supplies to keep the patient safe and comfortable.
A week later, the same plan is executed to get back to the USA: same plane, same pilots, same flight nurse. The family spends a memorable last Christmas together and are forever grateful that when they mentioned their desire to a group of friends, someone mentioned JET COMPANION.