County celebrates anniversary of providing emergency air medical coverage

A year ago July 22 marks the landmark decision by the Milam County Commissioners to approve a PHI Cares air medical membership program for Milam County. 

The agreement, which began on July 1, 2019, provides air medical transport benefits for all residents of Milam County when they are transported by a PHI Air Medical aircraft in the region.

The PHI Air Medical membership program, called PHI Cares, supports all of the households and residents of Milam County, Texas. With the launch of this agreement, Milam County residents are not required to pay any additional out-of-pocket expense for their emergency air medical transportation when a PHI Air Medical aircraft in the region transports them from Milam County or a surrounding county, including Falls, Robertson, Burleson, Lee, Williamson and Bell counties.

“The Milam County residents have benefitted greatly from this service and we are excited to continue our partnership with PHI,” said Michelle Morgan, Economic Development Coordinator for Milam County.

Residents should always call 911 first when they have a medical emergency. The county 911 dispatchers are well trained at assessing the medical needs of each caller and will determine if a ground or air ambulance is necessary. If a resident is transported by a PHI Air Medical Aircraft, they should notify the PHI Cares membership department at 1.888.I.Fly.PHI (1.888.435.9744) and provide them with the Milam County PHI Cares membership number # GHLMS-19-85725 and their date of transport.

Residents can obtain their PHI Cares membership stickers and upgrade forms from the following locations: Town of Buckholts, Buckholts City Hall. 113 West Main, Buckholts, TX 76518, (254) 593-3111; City of Cameron, Cameron City Hall, 100 South Houston Avenue, Cameron, TX 76520, (254) 697-6646; Community of Gause, Coats Grocery & Feed, 120 East Gause Blvd., Gause, TX 77857, (979) 279-3153; City of Rockdale, Rockdale City Hall, 505 West Cameron Ave., Rockdale, TX 76567, (512) 446-2511; City of Thorndale, Thorndale City Hall, 105 N. Main, Thorndale, TX 76577, (512) 898-2523; Milam County Tax Office, 103 South Fannin, Cameron, TX 76520, (254) 97-7017; Rockdale One Stop-Tax Office, 313 North Main, Rockdale, TX 76567, (512) 446-5103.

PHI Air Medical offers the PHI Cares program in other counties and cities near Milam County, including Burleson and Gonzales County, Bastrop and Smithville. 

The PHI Cares Membership program is available at over 60 air medical bases across the country. Milam County residents can upgrade their limited county membership benefit coverage to include nationwide PHI Cares coverage by filling out a membership benefit upgrade request form and paying a $35 annual fee. 

The form to upgrade your county membership to national household coverage can be obtained by downloading the form from the Milam County website at www.milamcounty.net . Residents may also email the PHI Cares Membership Department at membership@PHIAirMedical.com or call 1.888.435.9744 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. MST to obtain an upgrade form. 

Please reference the “Milam County” Membership program when calling or writing them.

Residents can visit the PHI company website at www.PHIAirMedical.com to learn more about the company and www.PHICares.com to learn more about their membership program.