Global Rescue Won't Leave You Stranded In Any Travel Emergency

You're on your dream vacation and without warning something unforeseen happens. It could be a medical emergency, political instability, a terrorism incident, or hundreds of other contingencies... What do you do?

Fortunately, a company called Global Rescue is filling a vacuum that existed for many years by providing consumers a full menu of integrated services. These include medical advisory and evacuation, field rescue, security advisory and extraction, as well as travel assistance and insurance.

CEO Dan Richards, who spent his early years in the financial world, realized that post 9/11, there weren't any companies that offered services beyond the basic travel insurance and medical evacuation. While some major companies and corporations did provide risk analysis and layers of protection for their employees, the average consumer was essentially left to fend for themselves.

When Richards launched Global Rescue in 2004, he envisioned something on a grander scale that the typical traveler could utilize by way of comprehensive services. Essentially, they would be doing for the individual and private enterprise what the government might provide for its employees and contractors.

With eight operation centers worldwide, the company has been involved in lifesaving operations around the world using military special operations personnel. This includes the 2015 Nepal earthquake, 2011 Arab Spring, and 2011 Haiti earthquake.

What distinguishes Global Rescue is that they provide all their medical, security, and intelligence services in-house and under one roof, instead of outsourcing these critical operations.

The fee-based membership includes an à la carte selection of services like medical evacuation — if necessary — from the actual point of injury, which is unique to Global Rescue. Injured mountain climbers in the Himalayas might use this service.

Some of the other offered services include:

Travel Assistance and Insurance:

• Travel insurance
• Visa and passport services
• Translation services
• Legal referrals
• Mortal remains transport

Medical Advisory and Transport:

• 24/7 access to paramedics, nurses, and physicians, including the medical teams at Elite Medical Group and the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Partners Healthcare

• Medical evacuation with more than 1,000 contracted aircraft and 200 available medical centers

Field Rescue:

• Military special ops teams and first responders can provide field rescue even in remote or dangerous locations.

Security Advisory and Extraction:

• Security extraction in the event of natural disasters, a terrorist attack, a government-ordered evacuation, or civil unrest
• Travel planning in the form of destination reports prepared from their own in-house intelligence services
• Emergency event alerts that will inform members of significant events for 215 countries and principalities
• GPS tracking and alerts to keep track of loved ones in real time
• Global Rescue app with medical and security resources as well as an emergency button that puts you directly in touch with their global operations center

The fees vary depending upon the consumer's needs and the length of coverage. A seven-day family travel plan, for example, would cost $199. A security add-on would bring the price up to $395. Individual plans would be less. The company website is user-friendly and easy to navigate the various services and costs.

Global Rescue's innovative TotalCare program was developed based on client demand. Many members wanted to continue using services, such as urgent care medical services, after they returned from a trip. The company's packages run from a silver plan to an unlimited one, either for an individual or a family. This latter plan provides 24/7 access to worldwide virtual health care, including specialty consults.

The gold membership plan covers all field, security, and medical services for up to 45 days of travel and includes a cutting-edge BodiMetrics medical device ($630 for an individual).  This piece of equipment is a little bigger than a credit card and has the ability to obtain your systolic blood pressure, pulse, temperature, 3 lead ECG, and blood oxygenation. This information can then be transmitted to a paramedic or physician who can converse with you via high-definition video. They can recommend treatment or prescribe medications, possibly all without having to visit a hospital emergency room while you are on the road.

It's no wonder that some of the biggest companies like NASA and the US Ski Team, as well as corporations and universities, rely on Global Rescue for their critical care planning and needs.

I personally tried their services on a recent trip to Germany and found the app very easy to use overseas. I was able to quickly check in at various locations and provide detailed information about my schedule so that others, back home, could quickly see. All of the information was then tracked by the global operations center, which, in the event of an emergency, could take appropriate action if I pressed and held the emergency button on my smartphone app.

For more information visit:  www.globalrescue.com

This was a sponsored service; however, all opinions herein are the authors.