The Ripley Life Squad recently provide the Village of Ripley with a $6,098 donation to continue the village’s Air Evac membership for residents. From the left, Jackson Eagan (Ripley EMT), Village of Ripley Council President Charles Poole, and Ripley Life Squad Captain Kathy Lewis. Photo by Wade Linville
Holding a membership with Air Evac can greatly limit out-of-pocket expenses for those who find themselves in need of the emergency medical transportation service, so the Village of Ripley feels it is important to maintain the membership. Once the village is no longer a member, the membership cannot be restored, according to Ripley Life Squad Captain Kathy Lewis.
“Once you give it up, you can’t get it back,” Lewis explained.
So, how does the membership work exactly? According to Lewis and other members of Ripley EMS, residents within Ripley’s corporation limits are included. If a Ripley resident is in need of Air Evac Services while anywhere in Brown County or in Mason County, KY, their medical insurance will be charged but the membership will cover their out-of-pocket expenses which can be in the thousands of dollars without the membership.
“They do bill your insurance, but there is no out-of-pocket to you,” said Lewis.
Those without medical insurance are billed at the Medicare rate.
Due to the distance of hospitals from Ripley, Air Evac is used quite often and can cut transportation time by more than half when compared to being transported by ambulance, and saving time can save lives in an emergency situation.
“In an emergency, every second helps,” said Lewis.
The Village of Ripley was in need of funds to keep up the Air Evac access membership for this year, and so the Ripley Life Squad provided a donation of $6,098 to keep up the membership.
The donation took place during the Village of Ripley’s regular council meeting on April 25.
The cost of the membership is sometimes paid for by the Village of Ripley, but it’s not uncommon for the Ripley Life Squad to step in and provide a donation to maintain the membership when the village lacks the funds.
“It’s very important, because when it’s gone, it’s gone,” Village of Ripley Council President Charles Poole said of the Air Evac membership. “Kathy has kind of spearheaded the funding of it, I think, and the volunteers. Without the work they put in, we couldn’t afford to keep this.”