Amy Savill hopes to raise $55K after expensive air ambulance ride
CBC News | Posted: August 10, 2015 3:03 PM | Last Updated: August 10, 2015
Alberta mother faces air ambulance bill for up to $30,000 after her baby was born two months early
People across Canada are donating money to help an Alberta mother stuck with an unexpected air ambulance bill that could cost her up to tens of thousands of dollars to get back home.
Amy Savill was at a family reunion in an Ontario campground in July when her water broke two months early.
A family member rushed her to hospital in Timmins, about an hour away. There she was told she needed an emergency C-section, so she was flown by medical helicopter to Sudbury.
Her daughter, Amelia, was born 12 hours after their journey began, in the early hours of July 20.
Now the single mother of two, temporarily stranded in Sudbury, faces thousands of dollars in unexpected costs.
Savill said she was warned before the helicopter took off that her Alberta health insurance wouldn't cover the estimated $10,000 to $30,000 for the ambulance flight.
"I didn't believe it at first," she said. "I kind of just shrugged, 'Oh, we'll have to jump through some hoops. But I'm sure it'll be covered.'"
According to the Alberta Health Services website: "All Albertans, including seniors, must pay the cost of emergency ambulance services and inter-facility transfers when travelling outside Alberta, because these services are not covered by inter-provincial reciprocal health care agreements."
Amelia is still in hospital. She weighs four pounds now, and can technically leave the hospital — but a trip home to High Prairie would require another medical flight, or waiting until the baby is stronger.
Charity group collects donations
Global Angel Charity is now collecting donations to help Savill and her two young children return home to Alberta. The campaign has a goal of $55,000, and has so far raised almost one-third of that amount. The money is not meant to cover the cost of the original air ambulance bill, organizers say.
"It's been really great to get our story out there," Savill said. "We've got a lot of support from people who don't even know us."
One man in Montreal called to say he owns an apartment in Sudbury, and Savill and her son and parents can stay there as long as necessary.
Savill said he hopes her story raises awareness among Canadians who take their health-care coverage for granted.
"A lot of people could get caught up in this. I think a lot of people are unaware that you need to buy special insurance. That stuff that you're covered for in your own province, you're not covered for in another province.
"The term universal health care is kind of tricky."
Premier Rachel Notley issued a statement about Savill's situation late last week.
"We certainly sympathize with this family and this scary and stressful situation. We will work with them to see if there is something we can do, and we will also be looking at whether negotiating reciprocal agreements with Ontario as well as other provinces is possible."
Corrections:- An earlier version of this story stated that CanadaHelps.org was raising money to help Amy Savill cover hospital and air ambulance fees. In fact, the Global Angel Charity is helping to raise funds, which are intended to help Savill and her children come back to Alberta. The story has been corrected. August 10, 2015 8:00 PM