Luckless Americans - The Life of a Hotel Doctor
When US airline crew get sick, they're out of luck. They must find transportation to a clinic in a strange city, present their insurance card, and hope for the best.
Foreign airlines do better, sending a doctor to care for crew in the hotel. In Los Angeles that's often me. Being young, crews suffer common ailments. Even better, company rules forbid work if they have a cold, a digestive upset, or injury.
On my own, I often handle minor ailments over the phone, but airlines demand a doctor on the spot to confirm the ailment and name a date when the employee may fly again. I enjoy those visits. These patients are never demanding; their priority is getting home. They hate being stuck in a hotel room. Airlines permit them to return as passengers, and I'm liberal about allowing them, so those visits usually end happily for both of us.
