It
is important to choose carefully when seeking assistance with
transporting individuals with care needs.
If
you call 911, you will probably be taken to a hospital and
treated by a physician. Ambulances responding to 911 calls
and many other ambulance services use their judgment in deciding
where a patient should be taken depending on departmental
policy, proximity to the closest medical facility, and/or
their assessment of the patient's condition and needs. If
the patient is unconscious or having trouble breathing, they
are required by law to take the patient to a hospital unless
they are presented with a signed Advance Health Care Directive
stating the patient does not want medical care and wants to
go only to a Christian Science (nursing) facility.
It
is important when arranging ambulance services to state clearly
that you are requesting "transportation only." That
will both reduce the likelihood of their insisting on providing
medical care enroute and reduce the cost. Some medical transport
services will reduce the charge by half if the patient is
able to sit up.
Ambulance
services charge approximately $1,000 to transport patients
to a care facility. Non-medical transportation services may
charge less if they are informed early that the patient is
being transported to a Christian Science facility. Costs and
accepted methods of payment should be ascertained at the outset.
Ambulance services to a Christian Science nursing facility
are not covered by Medicare.
The
above ambulance services have been used by patients served
by the facilities cited and have honored requests to take
patients to a Christian Science nursing facility. They are
listed in alphabetic order; the order does not suggest recommendations
or quality of service. You may want to request the latest
information from the care facility you plan to enter before
calling a service. When making arrangements, try to get their
assurance they will take the patient to a Christian Science
nursing facility.
