Anguillian-owned Rainbow International Airlines is now offering a significantly improved emergency air ambulance service to the people of Anguilla, and all persons and health institutions in the rest of the Caribbean.
Captain Kirby Hodge, a dedicated Anguillian pilot of longstanding experience in aviation, as well as in medical ambulance airlift, reintroduced his emergency trips on Sunday, March 4, on a more professional level. He flew to the island’s Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport on that day, from his base in St. Thomas, on his citation jet and left shortly afterwards for Puerto Rico with an Anguillian patient.
Just before take-off, he spoke to The Anguillian. “I am here to pick up a patient to take to San Juan,” he stated. “We just got our new equipment and now have our own medical team and are offering Anguillians [and others] the service they deserve. We did it in the past – on a small scale – now we are doing it on a bigger scale. We are available to take patients wherever they want to go. We can take them to the US mainland or to any island in the Caribbean if they so desire. We are providing the service on our jet aircraft and our King aircraft, which is faster that the normal plane, and will take them in comfort and style. So it is a two-part thing: service with a twist.”
Captain Hodge continued: “We have some of the most modern equipment. We have acquired a state-of-the-art Med Pack Kit (including stretcher, oxygen and other emergency supplies). It is what every ambulance company throughout the world uses, and we have one solely to take care of our people in the Caribbean and elsewhere.”
Rainbow International Airlines is working with Embracive Health Services Inc. as its medical providers. “We have an established medical team,” he said. “They have been in St. Thomas for years and we have worked together for fifteen years. I called them up and told them I was back in the business with a twist. It just happened that a trip popped up today. These guys are fully qualified. My team is professionally qualified medics in different US states with one, in particular, qualified to operate in three different states. We have doctors on the team but today, because of the patient’s history, we did not need a doctor so we have two medics with us. These doctors include brain and heart specialists.
“With our own medical team, it is a one stop shopping business. We can go to the hospital for the patient or you can have the patient delivered to us depending on his or her condition. There is no need to carry anybody from Anguilla with us. In the past we had to figure out getting the nurses back to Anguilla, but that will not happen any more. Our professionals travel with us and we take them back to our base in St. Thomas.”
Meanwhile, Sheridan Smith, CEO of Sheriva Luxury Boutique Villa Hotel in Anguilla, said he was proud that of the only two private jet companies in the Caribbean, one of them was owned by Captain Kirby Hodge. He stated that Kirby was not only a patriotic Anguillian, but was also his younger brother.
“This new air ambulance service offers a level of excellence that everyone in Anguilla can be proud of, knowing that this aircraft is available at a moment’s notice in situations where time is of critical importance,” Captain Hodge went on. “We no longer have to wait for jets to come from Miami, or even farther away, while the lives of our loved ones hang in the balance. We have an extremely experienced pilot at the helm of this operation and his onboard medical team comprises highly-trained professionals.
“As Anguilla is also a high-end destination, this is now a world-class service that our visitors will feel great about. Those with a penchant for the finer things in life will also want to have that comfort zone when it comes to their health and medical issues; and this new service is being proudly offered as well.”
