Medevac companies unveil new look
AMS celebrates 20 years in new planes and with more services
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Monday, November 16, 2015
NUNAVUT
Air ambulance services across Nunavut may look a little different this month, but two familiar companies are behind the scenes.
Critical care flight paramedic Collin Goyman monitors the vitals of a training dummy on board one of the two new King Air 250 aircraft purchased as part of a new partnership between Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS) and Air Tindi. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo |
Air Tindi and Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS) recently unveiled ACCESS, a new formal partnership between the airline and medical services company for their long-term medevac contract with the GNWT.
"It's a big, positive step forward," Air Tindi president Al Martin told Nunavut News/North. AMS serves the GN and Kitikmeot region.
AMS president Sean Ivens said discussions about ACCESS, which stands for Aeromedical Critical Care Emergency Services Specialists, started after a 2014 request for proposals required one company to serve the NWT.
"We decided neither would be the subcontractor, and a partnership meant we would have equal say and ownership in the contract," said Ivens. "It also prevents each company from impacting the others quality and safety."
Before this change, Air Tindi and AMS had separate contracts for providing air ambulance services for the GNWT for seven years.
But while ACCESS is a brand that is limited to the NWT, patients in Nunavut will see major benefits. That's because Air Tindi recently unveiled its newest King Air 250 planes, which Ivens said will increase both the quality of care and the work environment for the medics working inside them. Air Tindi also renovated a hangar at its offices in Yellowknife for AMS medevac staff and patients.
"When we transfer patients, we're able to transfer them in a warm, comfortable environment rather than out in the cold," Martin said.
A new on-site storage facility and equipment space is also available for the medics at the site, he added.
"So when they arrive they can get all the gear they need so they can head out on a flight right away. That speeds the whole process up," he said.
Ivens said the design of those new King Air 250 planes are purpose-built for air ambulance services, which will increase both the quality of care for patients and the work environment for the medics working inside them.
"They're more reliable and slightly faster, which means better response time," he said. "They also came from the factory set up for air ambulance with integrated communication equipment and all cabinetry designed for our services."
Each plane is equipped with two beds and are all the same, Martin added.
"It just makes such a difference to have a standardized fleet," he said.
Ivens said even the design of the seats is ergonomically much better and safer, which means fewer work-related injuries, less fatigue and greater safety.
"Plus there's the novelty of a new aircraft," he said.
They even come equipped with built-in coffee machines for long, late-night flights.
From firefighter to CEO
AMS wasn't always the medical services provider for the Government of Nunavut and the Kitikmeot region.
The company's first medevac contract was with the GNWT was in 2007. Ivens said it wasn't an easy acquisition.
"It was more than a new business, there was a huge learning curve," he said. "But we were focused on providing quality and high-level health services to the North. It cost a lot to the company."
That investment paid off. In 2010, AMS took on a contract to provide air ambulance services for the Government of Nunavut and the Kitikmeot region.
Not bad for a guy who started his career in public care services as a volunteer firefighter. In addition to providing medevac services, AMS now has four other divisions, including occupational health services, medical supplies and education.
Looking back at 20 years
Even after 20 years of evolution and change, Ivens said the challenges of being a business in the territory are still mostly tied to higher costs across the board.
"We don't have the volume like in the south," he said. "And because everyone knows there's so much opportunity here, it's a competitive environment."
Ivens said being able to offer a diversity of services and have staff with a variety of abilities was also a big lesson.
"It's really difficult to become a specialist here," he said. "With a Northern business you have to be able to do a little bit of everything."
Ivens said AMS' status as a Northern company is very important to him, especially since he was born and raised in the North. While he said he works hard to source as much as he can from the North, Ivens said the calibre of medical professionals needed for his company aren't available in the territories. As a result, he has some southern staff come up for different rotations periods, such as four weeks on and then four weeks off.
"The challenge then is scheduling," he said. "But now we're considered in the top three across the country for air ambulance services and we're able to recruit from other medical programs."
Ivens said this arrangement, while not ideal, still allows his staff to support the territory's economy while providing patients across all of the communities with better medical treatment.
As for the future, Ivens said AMS is planning to grow in all of its divisions, including working with physicians located abroad as well as expanding its occupational health and education services.
"The $500,000 investment we put into our simulation lab was private funding to support our air ambulance programs," he said. "It's the only one of its type in the North and there's great opportunity there."
