According to Terry W. Habeck, president and CEO of the Aviation Concepts group of companies, which owns the private air ambulance, the Westwind light jet used for medical flights from Guam since 2007 has been leased to a company in Singapore, and can no longer be used to transport patients out of Guam.
“We operated that (air ambulance) up until last month,” he told the Variety during an exclusive interview this weekend. But, he said, due to lack of support from the government of Guam and no cooperation from Guam Memorial Hospital, the service just wasn’t viable as a private business. “It’s a loss for the whole region,” Habeck lamented, adding they transported patients from Micronesia to Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Hawaii.
“Initially, we were getting government support,” he explained. Senators Rory Respicio and Benjamin Cruz introduced a bill to provide up to $1 million for transport of critically-ill MIP patients off-island, “and that appropriation was made. However, under our previous governor, it was never funded. So there wasn’t governmental support,” Habeck said.
It was an expensive service, he admitted. “It involves a medical doctor in many cases, a nurse, medical supplies and a jet airplane. The difference in Guam is the great distances we go. The average air ambulance trip in the United States mainland is probably 250 to 300 miles. We’re a minimum of 3,000 nautical miles, roundtrip.”
Habeck said they initially did a number of trips to Hawaii via the Marshall Islands, and provided support to the Veteran’s Affairs Offices on Guam and Saipan. However, a change of VA command in Honolulu resulted in a decision to use military aircraft to evacuate service members and veterans, even though the private service was less costly.
“Here on Guam,” Habeck said, “we never really had any significant support from an insurance company or from the hospital. The only insurance company that really supported us and sent patients was Calvo’s SelectCare.”
