Methodist Healthcare unveils new ground, air medical transfer service

The services include:

• Four critical care ambulances
• Ground or air transport when appropriate
• Dual paramedic and nurse teams trained for critically ill or injured patients, with training in heart alerts, stroke alerts, sepsis alerts, ECMO transports and major trauma

Early case examples or projected patient volume for the program is 3,500 patients in the first year, Methodist Healthcare officials shared with Community Impact.

Ashley Funkhouser, division director of media relations, confirmed that the service is projected to save 55 minutes from the current transfer methods and services. With the addition of the Critical Care Ambulances, they also project potential time savings of two to three hours for rural transfers.

Methodist Healthcare officials confirmed that response time will vary based on distance and location.

"Once a transfer request is received, the team mobilizes as quickly as possible and deployment is coordinated to match the patient’s clinical needs. Within the San Antonio area, we project the service can support around 10 to 11 transports in a 24-hour period," said Funkhouser.

“This service is about patient impact, helping ensure critically ill patients receive the right level of care during transfer and reach specialized teams as quickly and safely as possible,” Susan Kilgore, senior vice president of operations at Methodist Healthcare, said in the news release. “By bringing transport operations under Methodist Healthcare leadership, we’re strengthening coordination and clinical consistency across the transfer process.”

• Launched March 30
• Available throughout the Methodist Healthcare system
• www.sahealth.com