Traveling Angler Reports on Global Rescue Medical Evacuation Services

At The Angling Report, we believe strongly in the medical evacuation services offered by Global Rescue, the preeminent provider of that service. What occasions this restatement of an oft-repeated position is the note we received last month from subscriber Bill Mitchell. He writes:

“As I travel frequently on international fly fishing adventures, I decided to sign up for a Global Rescue membership. (Don Causey’s sage advice in The Angling Report.) On a recent steelhead trip to British Columbia, I had a very surprising and scary cardiac arrest. Luckily, it occurred at an airport in Canada while I was waiting for a connecting flight. One of my fishing pals, a retired MD, gave me CPR. The airport EMTs were quickly on the scene and they shocked me back to life.

“Once they were contacted, the Global Rescue folks were all over it: hourly update phone calls to the local ICU, multiple cardiologists consulting via conference call, a slick Lear jet flight home, and consistent follow-up. These people and their entire organization are truly, amazingly impressive. I have always been active and in good health, but I strongly recommend Global Rescue to anyone who travels internationally. You never know. . . . I was very lucky.” Our thoughts are with Bill and his family as he continues his recovery. And we thank him for taking the time to share his experience. His story drives home an important point: namely, you do not need to be headed to the Amazon or Jurassic Lake in Argentina to be at risk of injury or illness serious enough to require medical evacuation. The most dangerous part of any trip, anywhere, is that which is spent in an automobile. The general tourist driving on a narrow, winding road in Scotland is in far greater danger than the angler casting to peacock bass on the Rio Negro west of Belem. And the risk of a heart attack or stroke is greater in an airport than in a Weatherport tent in Alaska. Think about it—which place is most likely to cause anxiety and stress?

Global Rescue has been so successful in recent years in saving mountain climbers, world-class athletes, big game hunters, and oil field workers in far-flung places that it leaves an impression that only extremist individuals really need medical evacuation memberships. The truth is, for every spectacular mission it performs, Global Rescue does journeymen work, day after day, managing emergencies just like Bill Mitchell’s and fielding calls from members who need feedback about spider bites, fevers, and rashes. Global Rescue can do this because its call center isn’t staffed with bureaucrats; it has critical care paramedics on staff 24/7, 365 days a year. You will never call the emergency number at Global Rescue without being able to immediately reach a highly trained paramedic or security specialist who can help you. If the paramedic or security specialist can’t answer your question, he or she has immediate access to more than 1,000 emergency medicine specialists affiliated with Johns Hopkins and a network of security operatives worldwide. Together, these professionals can evaluate your condition quickly and get a jet or chopper headed your way without delay. If that sounds like an international 911 service, that’s because it is, essentially.

It just doesn’t make sense to leave home without signing up for a Global Rescue membership. As most Angling Report subscribers know, I say that as someone who went afield a few years back without a membership and wound up paying $124,000 to get home in a medical jet.—Don Causey.

Postscript: Individuals can sign up for a Global Rescue membership by calling 800-381-9754. Or go to www.global rescue.com/AnglingReport/. Alternately, leading agents and lodge owners in the angling travel field have partnered with Global Rescue to protect their clients and lower their liability. Simply ask at the time of booking.