Info obtained from the Manila Daily at www.mb.com.ph
Tuesday, 18 January 2000 - Lifeline brings emergency service on the road - Has fully-equipped ambulances, trained nurses - By CHRISTOPHER A. DATOL
LIFELINE Ambulances are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities used during in medical emergencies. Each has a four-man team comprised of a driver and three nurses. (Photo by Anjo Perez)
Click here for ambulance photo
Click here for photo of crew and equipment
There's no telling how unsafe Metro Manila's roads are today. Vehicular accidents occur all the time, as much as hoodlums strike either a driver, the car, or even the side mirror. And of course, traffic has become a byword, an unwelcome ''past-time'' by any driver or commuter. The coupled risks are endless.
Today, a mobile medical emergency service has found its way to the country's local roads. Lifeline Arrows provides Emergency Room (ER) service, like an ATM machine gives out cash. They are in operation for 24 hours, like a 7-11 convenience store, and have competent staff nurses and medical specialists, just like your reputable hospital. What's more, they can perform various medical procedures while on the road, (yes, specially during traffic) right inside a state-of-the-art ambulance – from minor cuts and fractures, to CPR, even to delivering babies.
Lifeline Arrows
"If your life is on the line, Lifeline can help you, because we bring the Emergency Room (ER) to you," says Francisco Colayco, president and CEO of Lifeline. Lifeline responds to people in need of competent medical attention during emergencies. Metro Manila residents are now enjoying this benefit, with highly-qualified nurse operators on standby 24 hours to receive emergency calls.
Colayco names Lifeline's five working elements: a competent staff of medical nurses and emergency paramedics; the right equipment, (all Lifeline ambulances are properly equipped with life support systems); tertiary hospitals to bring emergency patients to; proper medical specialists; and a 24-hour communication network.
By dialing 16-911, member-callers can get in touch with nurse operators in the Red Room in Lifeline's main office in Boni Avenue. Chato Tomas is one of those nurse operators. Her job is crucial because as a nurse, she must decide on the medical attention a patient requires. She can dispatch an ambulance if needed. At the same time, another nurse will get in touch with the receiving hospital, and either fax or verbally give out the patient's medical data.
This hi-tech process also includes an automated card given to members, containing a pin number which has direct access to the patient's medical record. "The most common conditions that we get are heart attacks, strokes, and vehicular accidents. Sometimes, we even have to retrieve the patients from the vehicle wreck. For that, we call assistance from other agencies like the MMDA, but we're the ones who do the medical intervention," said Tomas.
As soon as the ambulance arrives at the scene, first-aid treatment is immediately given to the patient. If the patient requires further assessment and confinement, Lifeline nurses will bring the patient all the way to the receiving hospital. Worse cases call for minor operations, and these the Lifeline nurses can perform right inside the ambulance while on the way to the hospital. Other Red Room services include phone consultations regarding inquiries on medicine and health.
Roving ER's
All 10 Lifeline ambulances were baptized with the names of characters from Greek mythology such as Poseidon, Paris, Mercury, Orion, Achilles, Juno and Midas.
Joseph Corcino is one of the nurses of the Midas Alpha van, which is one of the three big Ford ambulances. The other seven are Nissan Urvan vehicles. All of the ambulances were custom-made for Lifeline.
The ambulance carries a four-man team, namely, a driver and three nurses – a team leader, a treatment officer and a trainee.
For vehicular accidents, the ambulance is equipped with retrieving facilities, such as spider straps, scoops, extrication device, and to protect the immobilized extremities, they have a stretcher, a portable wheelchair, and cervical collars.
They also have first-class and state-of-theart equipment such as an ECG monitor with defibrillator, a glucometer for diabetics, a portable pulmo-aid for asthma patients and three oxygen tanks. "Everything that an ER has, we have in this ambulance," said Corcino.
In a 12-hour shift, Corcino said they serve an average of three to six patients, which means six to 12 in a day.
Giving life to Lifeline
It all started in 1995, when a group of Medical City doctors headed by Dr. Virgilio Basillo, Sr. decided to use their radio communication network to get into a kind of trauma treatment business. They initially thought of Lifeline Arrows as a business, and since they were very well connected, they were able to convince five hospitals, namely: Makati Medical Center, Manila Doctors Hospital, Medical City, Capitol Medical Center, and St. Luke's Medical Center, to support the project.
Today, Lifeline has shifted its target markets. They arranged tie-up's with other companies such as credit card providers (as an add-on feature), and HMO's (as third party), aside from corporate accounts, making Lifeline a part of the employe-welfare program.
Lifeline has also lowered its prices, making it affordable for most Filipinos. Individual membership now costs P700 per head, per year.
"We decided to make this a viable proposition. As a business, we need to make it affordable, we need to hit a critical mass. It's like insurance, you may never need an ambulance, but if and when you need it, you'll be willing to spend everything just to save your life," he added.
Info obtained from the Manila Daily at www.mb.com.ph