Houston welcomed its newest employer to the community late Tuesday morning.
Air Evac Lifeteam is holding an open house in a newly renovated building in a project undertaken by the Houston Development Co.
Earlier: Air Evac Lifeteam has expanded its patient accounts office to Houston, where an open house is planned for Tuesday, May 5.
The community is invited to see the new space and learn more about Air Evac Lifeteam at an open house and ribbon cutting from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The office is at 304 Spruce St., Suite 3 (in the former Lee Co). Light refreshments will be served.
“We will host the chamber of commerce at 10:30 a.m. to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the building will be open for tours during the entire time. Currently the helicopter based in Salem is scheduled to be in Houston that day and will be available for the community to see and ask questions. We also will have representatives from our Membership Services here to answer questions and provide information about becoming a member of Air Evac Lifeteam,” explained Director of Patient Accounts Debbie Wilson.
“Houston and the surrounding area has a population that will help accommodate Air Evac Lifeteam’s continued expansion and growth,” explained Wilson of the decision to open an office in Houston. “The City of Houston and the Houston Development Co. worked closely with us to help us secure the building and prepare it for occupation by our employees.
“Just as our company works to place helicopter bases in areas of need, such as rural areas, we needed to expand our potential employee base and Houston was a local community that had recently lost jobs due to factory closings and businesses leaving town. We were excited to bring some jobs back to the Houston area. Also, we have several employees who live in that area and are able to commute to Houston easier and with less miles than coming to West Plains. In the current economic situation it is a win-win situation for everyone.”
Currently, there are 16 employees in the office with the capacity for a total of 50. Air Evac Lifeteam Patient Accounts Department is first and foremost an advocate for the patient and family through the costly and many times confusing billing and payment process after an emergency medical flight. The office in Houston is processing the Medicare billing claims for patients.
“We work to treat patients personally and individually and assist them during their recovery time to work through their bills as completely and accurately as we can. If the patients allow it, we spend time learning about them to be able to give them the respect they deserve. Many of our employees form a bond with the patients and follow their recovery progress well after the bill is taken care of,” added Wilson.
“We have close contact with our customers and are proud of the customer service we provide to them and their families. I encourage all of the patient account representatives to treat the customers as their family. I ask them to respect them in the way they want someone to respect them or their mother or father. That’s our golden rule in this department.”
According to Wilson, there are many businesses and people they wish to thank who helped make the office in Houston a success.
“The City of Houston including the utilities, water and sewer department, along with special thanks to Director of Economic Development Ron Reed. Also thanks to PenMac, Glass Depot, Professional Roofing and Painting, Licking Roofing, Hog Creek Enterprises with a special thanks to Don Odle, David Edgar Masonry, Rust Utility Shop, Houston Development Co., Sponsler Welding, Sho-Me Electric Cooperative (community broadband network), Titan Propane, Larry Taff Electric and Sandy Ball, Archie Skaggs, Josh Thomas, Derrick Sherrell and Jon Honig. It was an honor to work with each and every one of you, and we thank you for the facilities.”
The office opened for employees on Tuesday, April 7. Air Evac Lifeteam is a membership-supported air ambulance company that provides emergency care and rapid medical transport to rural communities throughout the central U.S. The company operates 83 bases in 14 states and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems.
For more information about Air Evac Lifeteam services, call 800-793-0010 or visit www.lifeteam.net.