Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Sidford MD and Kate Kielty.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
While vacationing on a remote Caribbean island, Christopher Sidford had a very real health scare with his own son. They were 300 miles away from any American hospital. The island doctor’s next scheduled visit was six days away, and the first ferry to the Caribbean airport wouldn’t depart for another 8 hours. So he gathered medical supplies and prescriptions at a local pharmacy and arranged for a pilot with a private airplane on standby in case the situation became dire. He also knew the closest U.S. hospital, and what doctors would be available to help treat his son upon arrival.
Dr. Sidford was able to formulate this medical contingency plan because he is a board-certified physician in Emergency Medicine with over 20 years of experience at leading medical institutions. Prior to founding Black Bag, a private, emergency medical consultancy, he was an attending physician with the world-renowned Lahey Clinic. He started his career at Boston City Hospital, where he graduated from the hospital’s “knife and gun club,” the residency program for emergency physicians.
As a U.S. Navy officer, Dr. Sidford served as faculty member of the Emergency Medicine Residency training program. The Mojave Desert and the Arctic Circle were just some of the locations that challenged Dr. Sidford to teach and practice emergency medicine in remote and difficult conditions. Later, he helped to open a nuclear-, chemical-, and biological-proof hospital on the island of Sicily.
Upon returning to the United States, he joined the faculty at Brown University, where he taught emergency medicine and served as attending physician at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Dr. Sidford has also provided emergency medical support for NATO troops during amphibious operations at the Arctic Circle. And he is a fellow with the American College of Emergency Medicine and volunteers at IMEC (International Medical Equipment Collaborative), an organization dedicated to providing third-world nations with millions of dollars’ worth of used medical equipment.
These experiences led Dr. Sidford to found Black Bag, a private, emergency medical consultancy that works with wealthy families, family offices, and senior executives to provide immediate care guidance wherever they may be. Whether they travel for work or pleasure, Dr. Sidford and his staff accommodate their lifestyle by coordinating medical care around the globe. To date, Black Bag has provided emergency medical coverage to over 250 clients in 90 different countries on all seven continents.
Has it been a smooth road?
Our biggest challenge is keeping up with technology. They are constantly making advances in telehealth. Implementing the changes and keeping our system secure is of utmost importance.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Black Bag story. Tell us more about the business.
We are Emergency Medical Physicians. We specialize in physician-directed care and advice concerning emergencies, hospitalization, and evacuation for clients traveling abroad. Essentially, we help them make “stay or go” decisions when it comes to the quality and availability of medical care they need at the time. If evacuation or transfer is necessary, we help coordinate the medical and logistical requirements. This is all done on a very elite level.
As a private emergency medical consultancy, you need to be able to pull a team together as the situation calls for it. Our network includes evacuation companies, security experts, translators, and more. We know who to call and when. Connections count.
Our success depends on the trust we build with other advisors and the clients to whom they refer us. We are quite pleased with the number of individual clients we have been asked to assist. We have also branched out into group travel needs. For instance, we worked with former Secret Service team members to provide medical support for ABC News members traveling to dangerous areas of Africa.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Today, people are looking for alternatives to the more “traditional” delivery of medicine for various reasons. This includes telemedicine and telehealth options. Concierge medicine, where patients are essentially paying physicians to be more available to meet their particular needs, is also becoming more popular.
Healthcare providers will need to walk a fine line between service and business. To some degree, they will need to start thinking of patients as consumers and be able to meet their needs as well as demands. These are interesting times to be a doctor.
Contact Info:
- Address: 29 Water Street
Newburyport, MA 01950 - Website: www.emergencyblackbag.com
- Phone: 978-518-3203
- Email: csidford@emergencyblackbag.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackBagGlobal
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