CORPUS CHRISTI — Sick kids may get a quicker ride to Driscoll Children's Hospital now that the hospital has a dedicated helicopter and pilot for emergency transports.
The hospital has signed a partnership with Corpus Christi-based air ambulance provider HALO-Flight, which has agreed set aside a helicopter and pilot solely to fly children to and from the children's hospital. The companies plan to announce the partnership at a news conference today.
Although HALO-Flight has provided emergency transports for Driscoll Children's Hospital for more than 20 years, there were times when the nonprofit air ambulance company couldn't provide the service because the helicopters were being used elsewhere, forcing Driscoll to find other modes of transportation.
This new partnership should make emergency transports speedier and more dependable, particularly as Driscoll extends its insurance coverage to more than 90,000 children in the Rio Grande Valley, CEO Steve Woerner said.
Jeremy Goodman, the hospital's business operations manager, said he expects Driscoll will cut back on the number of ground ambulance trips outside Corpus Christi now that the hospital can rely more heavily on a helicopter, which can get children to the hospital faster.
"This is going to serve those children so much better," Goodman said.
The hospital operates its own fleet of four ambulances.
The new partnership, signed last month, also means Driscoll Children's Hospital likely will cut back on its use of other air ambulance services that operate with fixed-wing planes instead of helicopters, Woerner said.
Mike Stanton, who owns Western Flyers Air Service in McAllen, said he's not yet sure how the partnership between Driscoll and HALO-Flight will affect his business.
"I'm hoping it doesn't go down, but you don't know what the future holds," he said. "Nothing is guaranteed."
Western Flyers Air Service primarily provides charter flights but bolsters its business with air ambulance transports, including some for Driscoll Children's Hospital, Stanton said.
The hospital still will need to rely on planes at times because they can fly in poor weather that grounds helicopters, Goodman said.
With the arrangement, HALO-Flight will offer Driscoll speedier service because it no longer will be delayed in configuring an aircraft for the mission, said Tom Klassen, executive director of HALO-Flight.
Dedicating a helicopter to Driscoll also allows HALO-Flight to expand its business, Klassen said. The nonprofit recently hired two new pilots and is in the process of buying another helicopter, bringing its total to three.
"I think it's a win-win for both companies," he said.
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