A few months ago, an attendee returning from a convention in Cancun faced every traveler's worst nightmare when his wife suffered a heart attack on the plane. The pilot declared a medical emergency, landed, and paramedics came aboard and transported the woman to the nearest hospital.
The couple didn't speak Spanish and didn't know a soul in Mexico, but luckily the convention-goer had recently joined AirMed International, a Birmingham, AL-based emergency medical services firm. "Because he was a member, we were able to airlift him and his wife to their regular hospital back home in Tuscaloosa, AL, at no charge," says Captain Jeffrey Tolbert, AirMed's CEO. Membership in AirMed is $250 per year for an individual, with group discounts available; for more information, visit www.airmed.com.
There's another service that can actually intervene while the sick passenger is still in flight (or, in the case of a cruise, on board): MedAire, a Tempe, AZ-based firm founded 20 years ago by former nurse Joan Sullivan Garrett. Via its MedLink service, MedAire will put its clients in touch with live, on-the-ground emergency room personnel within 60 seconds—physicians who can diagnose illnesses, recommend treatments, and even read vital signs, thanks to MedAire-supplied on-board medical testing kits. The company also offers training to on-board crew in handling medical emergencies. To date, 84 commercial airlines (including Continental, Delta, US Airways, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic), more than 850 corporate jet fleets, and many cruise ship lines subscribe; for more information, visit www.medaire.com.