By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
City council members approved a partnership with the local hospital, public school district and the county for county-wide air ambulance services for residents.
During its Sept. 26 regular meeting, the council approved a resolution for the city manager to sign an interlocal agreement with Val Verde Regional Medical Center for a membership with AirMedCare Network (AMCN). The partnership will help Val Verde County residents by providing air ambulance services.
According to information presented to the council by Risk Management Director Lorinda Castillo, Val Verde County residents who use the service will be eligible for limited out-of-pocket billing for air medical transport.
In the handout provided to the council, AMCN is acknowledged as America’s largest air ambulance membership network with benefits including no out-of-pocket expenses, no limits to the number of transports and discounted rates.
Mayor Pro-tem Steve Webb made the motion to approve the resolution, and Councilman J.P Sanchez gave the second.
The city of Del Rio will pay $32,227.20 to Val Verde Regional Medical Center as the city’s portion of the county-wide service for the fiscal year 2023-2024. The city council has agreed on similar proposals since 2016 and has renewed the agreement annually.
The four entities that are part of the partnership include the City of Del Rio, Val Verde Regional Medical Center, Val Verde County and San Felipe Del Rio CISD, who all will pay a portion of the total cost of the service.
Mayor Al Arreola opened the meeting for questions from the council members. Webb commented he believed the partnership will be beneficial for people.
“If you don’t have this, you should contact Henry Gomez and sign up. Because if you ever need a helicopter to get to San Antonio, it is very costly. This helps cut down on the bill if you ever receive one. My family and I are on board with this. I pray we never need it, but I have it in case I do,” Webb said.
Regarding the information from the agenda, Councilwoman Alexandra Calderon asked who will benefit from this membership.
Wes McAden, a representative of the AMCN program, had joined the council meeting via video.
He said the program they will be a part of is a “measured version of the AirMedCare network program designed to protect the citizens of Val Verde County.”
“Under this program, God forbid, you or anyone living under your roof, provided you’re a resident of Val Verde County and you have health insurance and you are transported by us, you will have no out-of-pocket expense for that flight. Anything not covered by your insurance will be consider pre-paid in full,” McAden said.
Calderon thanked McAden for presenting the information to them.
The council unanimously approved the resolution following the discussion.
