Med Coach MD Air, USA Med Coach, Air Med, Air MD, Silverthorn Holdings, LLC, Med Coach, LLC, Alchemy Investment Beware of this service! No DL checks, background checks or nursing license check are done!! Clearwater, Florida

This company transports non-emergent patients state to state.  Many patients do not have any family members to travel with them and rely on this company to keep them safe while in the motor homes.  Before you read this, you need to know the owner of this company is a doctor who holds a license in Emergency Medicine. 

I worked for this company for 9 months and have first hand at what they are doing. There were NO drivers license, background or nursing license checks done.  There were also NO drug screens.  One nurse who worked for this company from July 2010 to December 2010.  Prior to her hire, she been arrested as a fugitive from Kentucky for abuse and neglect of the elderly.  REALLY???  They couldn't have looked that up??  She was later fired for stealing from the hotels they stayed in and sending these items to her sister in New York.  Had they done a nursing license check, they would have at least been suspicious of her address of 0000 ABC Street in Indian Rocks Beach, FL.

While on one trip, one of the drivers fell asleep at the wheel.  By the grace of God, the other driver knew there was something going on with this person and sat in the front passanger seat.  This driver went off the left side of the road, down a slight embankment and was headed across the median into 4 lanes of oncoming traffic before the other driver could awaken him and grab the wheel to get control.  When I made a report to this doctor/owner, his business partner/office manager and his mechanic/driver supervisor, nothing was done.   This driver was allowed to go out with a mechanic/driver and myself, only to come inches from running into the back of a car hauler with a 42' motor home with a car carrier attached to the back and two unknowing riders.  Not lack of sleep, just drugs and alcohol.  At this time, there's a driver with a background of lewd and lacivious behavior to a child under 16 and spent time in prison.  Another one has a criminal background of domestic violance and many other violent charges.  One long time driver has refused to take a drug test but continues to work.

While the pictures look great on the website, there is only one coach with an actual hospital bed.  All others have been rigged and are made from the original table and bench that was in the unit.  They are made with thick plywood, a piece of foam and an air mattress on top.  There is an inflatable "wedge" that blows up to raise the head of the bed, which is not sufficient for a patient with COPD or peg tube feedings or anyone with aspiration precautions. 

They advertise suctioning for trach patients.  There are suctioning machines but are only usable if the crew is able to rig the incorrect tubing that has been ordered by someone who doesn't have a clue what is needed.   My last trip, prior to leaving this "business" involved 3 hours at an ER.  I was not being able to keep the patient properly suctioned because they are too cheap to put pressurized hydration machines on the coach, required  to keep the patients secretions from getting thick.  This patient was unable to breath and almost suffocated before we could get him the the hospital.   Although the coach does have glucometers, the correct test strips don't accompany the machine, leaving blood sugars unchecked. 

They also advertise to have OTC meds, however, these meds include promethazine and ativan, which are prescription drugs that are kept in unlocked cabinets and MUST have an order to be given. 

The "private bathrooms" aren't really private.  There is usually no water to flush the toilets or wash one's hands, as the tanks don't get filled with fresh water.  If we're lucky, the driver will stop to get some gallons of water to do this with.  In one coach, there isn't even a door to close between the room where the drivers sleep and the bathroom.  There is no curtain between the front windshield and the patient.  No curtain in the small coach between the bed above the seats and the patient.  The doctor/owner now has plans to install cameras with sound.  Not a very private travel for vulnerable patients.

There has always been an issue with drivers parking a coach and not filling propane and fuel.  There also is an issue with the propane being filled with passangers.  It is ILLEGAL to fill a vehicle with propane while someone is on board.  This is a common practice.  The reason there should be noone is explosions CAN occur.  I have had to stay on one with a patient on almost every trip I have taken, closing all the shades and hanging blankets so the person filling the tank can't see in.

There are other companies out there who do the same kind of travel.  Please do your homework prior to using this company.  I'm not a disgruntled employee.  The only hire people as contractors because he's too cheap to pay anything.  Trips cost $15,000 to $25,000 and, in reality, the pay isn't very good for what they put us through.  This is a "christian" company but they are the worst liars I have ever known.  The 9th commandment means nothing to them.  Again, do your homework first.