Florida Standby
Alcor recently performed a 13-day standby for a member in Florida who was hospitalized for medical reasons and an emergency procedure. Alcor was prompted to launch a standby under the Comprehensive Member Standby (CMS) program, an especially good idea because there were medical factors complicating the surgery. First notice of the case arrived late afternoon, and that evening we deployed 3 Alcor personnel (who collectively have dozens of cases experience) by commercial aircraft with a full remote stand-by and stabilization kit. The kit included a portable ice bath, full medications, mechanical chest compressor for cardiopulmonary support, Air Transportable Perfusion system for remote blood washout, and advanced monitoring equipment. This was the first field test of our new compact kit system, and it appeared to have everything we anticipated needing. Suspended Animation, Inc, helped us by providing coverage during the flight, assistance with coverage during surgery, and by providing a truck and compressed air tanks which relieved us of the need to locally procure those items ourselves.
Fortunately, the member’s condition improved, and transport was not required despite the lengthy standby.