About this episode
Andrew Brainard, founder of TransMedCare, which runs only long-distance medical transports, says his minimum charge is $5,000, his average trip is $8,000, and a California to North Carolina move on the calendar is $20,000. That pricing puts him outside the $35 and $65 wheelchair and stretcher market and inside a business families can postpone, so bookings stall ahead of a presidential election and two back-to-back hurricanes slowed him for nearly two months. He runs 11 employees and more than 30 contractors, sends three-person crews with hotel stops, and his longest trip ran Washington State to Florida.
Key takeaways
- A TransMedCare van sat more than 24 hours in a Denver blizzard. The insulation let the crew heat it in cycles instead of idling, and they took in people from other stranded vehicles.
- Van details come from contractor feedback: heavy plywood to weight a cargo van that rides rough empty, a red night light so overnight care does not blind the passenger, and airline-style AC controls next build.
- Evacuation transports move through FEMA and TransMedCare is not signed up, which Brainard says he is working on. A Florida backup-power requirement for facilities also cut evacuation demand.
- Brainard quit a company that had him move two stretcher patients at once, calling it not humane. He now refuses to hire any contractor or employee who cannot treat passengers as family.
- Most TransMedCare trips are not doctor appointments but last moves, and Brainard says last requests come with them: see the ocean one more time, or stop for one more Big Mac.
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:26 Interesting stories from long-distance NEMT
- 2:05 Emotional fortitude in providing NEMT service
- 10:08 Importance of technology in NEMT
- 11:29 Random events that make business difficult
- 17:45 Van designs protect against contingincies
- 22:00 RUN BAMBI RUN!!
