What are 5 unusual requests that you’ve had from a family or patient?

5 unusual requests from our customers and our responses to each.

1. We would like my dad to have all of the Andy Griffith Show episodes to watch from 1968, season 8.
Our response: Any special snacks to go along with that? (Thank you Amazon.com)

2. There won’t be anyone else riding along with my mom, just Tiger. Oh, Tiger? That ‘s mama’s cat, but she rides in a carrier.
Our response: What kind of kitty treats does Tiger like?

3. Special diet? No, not really, but my sister loves Godiva chocolates. Hasn’t had them since she’s been in that nursing home.
Our response: Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? We’ll have them waiting on her.

4. My mom must have a glass of wine with her meals, even on the road. They accommodated her at the rehab center, what about you?
Our response: Open container laws in many states prohibit us from serving alcohol, even to a 97 year old patient with her meals. However, we
make frequent stops along the way and when we do, wine will be served.

5. You know, if my dad could hear music from the Big Band Era, the 21 hour transport would be so much easier for him.
Our response: We will make him his own CD and have it waiting on him. Any specific requests?

Why would one not use an ambulance service to transport a patient across the country instead of your service?

For the same reason that you wouldn’t use a sledgehammer to kill a fly, you wouldn’t call on an ambulance to transport long distances. But there are many more reasons. First, an ambulance is a mobile emergency room. They are well designed and equipped to be the liasion between the world and the specialized care you may need in a hurry at a hospital. An ambulance isn’t designed for comfort. Its designed for efficiency, storage and speed. And the cost to operate them is outrageous.

Transportation to a doctors appointment, to a facility across the country or to relocate someone several hundreds of miles away needs to be in a comfortable setting that is also affordable. MMT presents patients with that comfort, without giving up the trained staff that knows how to correctly transfer a fractured hip, talk to an Alzheimers patient, or handle a wide range of non urgent needs on the road. Everything we do, is designed around non-emergency patients. The design and comfort of the vehicles, the insurance that we carry to cross state lines and the extra comforts on board like sattelite radio, DVD screens and enhanced stretcher padding.

What are your geographical boundaries for transporting patients?

Our insurance will not cover our vans once they cross the U.S. Border, including anywhere in Canada or Mexico.

Although we provide patient transport everywhere else in the United States, we have a minimum of 500 miles. If your needs involve a transport just under that minimum, sometimes its a good idea just to get a quote from us anyway. Often, people find when doing their research,that paying our minimum, is still the best option.

There is one exception to our 500 mile minimum. We still operate our original local transport division in our corporate headquarters of Atlanta/Athens, Georgia where we first began in 1997. In that area only, we provide local wheelchair and stretcher transport to and from medical appointments, hospital discharges, etc. with no minimum mileage requirements.

Why isn’t there anyone answering your phones, and my questions, after hours?

When you call us for information, the last thing that you want to hear from us is uncertainty. The people who answer your questions and book transportation at MMT know our business inside and out. They’ve been on the administrative end as well as the patient care and transport end. Those are the individuals that we want you to reach when you call us. Since we couldn’t possibly keep them in the office around the clock, we put them here during regular office hours. They are a wealth of information so don’t hesitate to call them with your questions. After hours, we put them on call and are still available via our website email system for questions that cannot wait until the next business day.

What time do you close?

MMT operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including holidays. We accept incoming calls through our dispatch center during normal office hours. After hours, our customers who contract with us and families of patients who are being transported after hours are given the numbers for our after hours dispatch.