The Medical City, a leading healthcare provider in the Philippines, announces the launch of their partnership with Ascent, Asia’s on-demand helicopter service that enables travel in a crowd-free and controlled environment. Patients and personnel of The Medical City are now only minutes away from its healthcare network by flying in and out of its world-class facilities directly or from dedicated Ascent hubs.

The innovative healthcare provider is among one of the most trusted organisations for local and international travelers and tourists alike in the Philippines – serving more than 50,000 inpatients and 500,000 outpatients a year. Through this partnership, its patients can expect a faster and more seamless healthcare journey between facilities of The Medical City free of ground transport complexities such as traffic congestion and other connectivity issues. With Ascent, passengers fly on curated aircraft from the best-in-class operators with stringent COVID-19 related safety protocols with an accompanying medical healthcare team during flights.

[Editor note – Ascent are providing a Bell 429 and an Airbus EC135, along with two fixed wing Beech 200s, for this service.  None of these aircraft are full-time dedicated to the EMS role]

For patients, time-sensitive personnel such as surgeons and sensitive medical cargo such as organs or fragile medical equipment, The Medical City in Ortigas is now only 25 minutes away from its Clark branch. The service will include only planned and coordinated medical flights at launch and includes complimentary transfers on licensed medical transport vehicles to and from the airport terminals when applicable. “With this partnership, your healthcare dedicated service is now more efficient, convenient and seamless” says Dr Christopher Napoleon Delos Reyes, Senior Vice President of The Medical City. “Patients can now easily access medical air mobility services through Ascent thereby avoiding wait times in traffic as they focus on their health. In addition, our personnel and sensitive cargo can now move more efficiently, improving the overall performance of our healthcare services.”

Lionel Sinai-Sinelnikoff, Founder and CEO of Ascent adds, “In line with our continued focus on democratising access to air mobility, this partnership marks another step in the progress of the future of mobility in the Philippines. We are excited to save patients of The Medical City up to 85% of their time in traffic, especially in a situation where minutes matter, and essentially forming a safe travel bubble from the main branch of The Medical City and its wider healthcare network. This will have a tremendous impact especially to less accessible areas where ground ambulances can take hours to get to.”

The Medical City has been consistent with giving its patients an unparalleled healthcare experience including innovative initiatives such as the TMC Drive-thru Lab recently. Through this partnership with Ascent, The Medical City continues to elevate its healthcare ecosystem with a focus on both patient safety and experience as well as service efficiency and excellence. With Ascent, passengers and patients fly on fuel-efficient helicopters operated by curated operators such as INAEC Aviation Corporation in the Philippines. Air operator partners of Ascent have unrivaled safety track records, abide strictly to stringent international operational standards, and are audited internationally to ensure the highest levels of safety and reliability.