COVINGTON — The Fountain County Commissioners approved a new emergency air medical transportation agreement with PHI Cares.
The agreement will provide air medical transport benefits for all Fountain County residents when they are transported by a PHI Air Medical aircraft or Ascension St. Vincent StatFlight aircraft in the region. The new agreement went into effect Jan. 1.
With the launch of this agreement, Fountain County residents will not be required to pay any additional out-of-pocket expense for their emergency air medical transportation when a PHI Air Medical or Ascension St Vincent StatFlight aircraft in the region transports them from Fountain County or a surrounding county, including Warren, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Parke and Montgomery counties.
“On behalf of Fountain County Board of Commissioners (Brenda Hardy, Tim Shumaker and Andrew Hall) and Fountain County Council, it’s my honor to introduce to you the county’s partnership with PHI Cares,” said Andrew Hall, Fountain County Board of Commissioners. “We are honored to present this partnership and benefit to our residents of Fountain County. As much as we hope no one ever has to utilize these services, we know life presents us all with some unforeseeable circumstance that may require air medical transporting.”
Residents should always call 911 first when they have a medical emergency. The 911 dispatchers will dispatch an ambulance. The attending paramedics will determine if an air ambulance is needed. If a resident is transported by a PHI Health Aircraft, they should notify the PHI Cares membership department at 1.888.I.Fly.PHI (1.888.435.9744) and provide them with the Fountain County PHI Cares membership number #GHLMS-21-95352 and their date of transport.
PHI Cares will provide Fountain County Commissioners with special membership ID cards that include the PHI Cares membership number. Residents can obtain their PHI Cares membership cards from the following locations after January 15:
• Fountain County Courthouse, Auditor’s Office, 301 Fourth St., Covington, IN 47932
• Attica City Hall, 305 E Main St., Attica, IN 47918
• Covington City Hall, 329 Washington St., Covington, IN 47932
• Veedersburg Town Hall, 100 S. Main St., Veedersburg, IN 47987
• Hillsboro Town Hall, 104 W. Main St., Hillsboro, IN 47949
• Kingman Town Hall, 118 E. State St., Kingman, IN 47952
The PHI Cares Membership program is available at over 60 air medical bases across the country. Fountain County residents can upgrade their limited county membership benefit coverage to include nationwide PHI Cares coverage by logging into www.phicares.com, filling out the online enrollment form, and using the discount code, FOUNTAINUPGRADE, to obtain your special upgrade price of $45, an annual fee. Residents may also email the PHI Cares Membership Department at membership@PHIAirMedical.com or call 1-888-435-9744 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. MST Monday through Friday to obtain an upgrade form. Please reference the “Fountain County” membership program when calling or writing them.
Residents can visit the PHI company website at www.PHIAirMedical.com to learn more about the company and www.PHICares.com to learn more about their membership program.
