GODFATHER OF MEDEVAC COMPANY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Necessity is the mother of invention. And this how Airgurus, a medevac company in the Philippines was formed. This is the case for Captain Harry Harvey Lero, the founder and CEO of Airgurus which was and still is the only professional medevac company in the Philippines.
Incidentally, the first medevac case was through the wife of a friend. She called in emergency for a foreigner friend of hers that got into an accident on the distant shores of Boracay. At the time, Capt. Harry had no helicopter of his own so it was a risk for him to take on the quest. However, he got on his feet and rented a helicopter. He then picked up the patient and his wife and flew them to Makati Medical Hospital.
This all happened in a span of four hours. For those who are not familiar with what it takes to execute a medical evacuation, his feat is impressive as first missions go.
Over the years, Capt. Harry has flown at night, 200 miles out at sea, and during bad weather. In one case, the U.S government had him on stand by in case of a rescue mission operation. The location was given to him and was advised the pick up point near terrorists camp in the dangerous areas of Mindanao. It was a satellite image hence; locating the area proved its own challenge. Over the years his skills and hard work has helped him make his own luck.
He comes from a family where flying is in the blood, Harry Harvey Lero is a third generation pilot. Capt. Harry’s grandfather was the kind of man who was an air force pilot and a WW2 guerrilla. Harry reminisces the weekends with his grandfather when he got to fly remote controlled helicopters. He learned precision and control before he got in a cockpit.
He didn’t immediately become a pilot however, in 2001 Captain Lero was in Chicago taking a certified nurse assistant course. Harry spent a year gathering up experience to run a nurse staffing agency. His company would send nurses and caregivers to nursing homes for the elderly. Capt. Lero then decides to study to be a nurse to get a medical background. This is despite the fact that he says he “hates the sight of blood”. He had come to a reasonable amount of success with his agency and was financially stable. He sold his shares of the company and in 2005, he moved back to the Philippines.
After the medevac rescue in 2007, Capt. Harry was discussing the mission rescue with his friend in the hangar at Pasay. He recalls the exact moment they coined the term Airgurus medevac company Philippines came together.
“My friend owns a scuba company, Divegurus. The name has a ring on it so I said why not Airgurus.” After that he took his idea and went to different companies including EA Philippines to see how he could get started. The companies were able to offer him a guarantee on payment, fronting the money themselves and then collecting later on their own. Over the years the companies closed due to mismanagement. After he learned how to avoid those mistakes he decided he could open a company himself. This is how Airgurus “Medevac company Philippines” came to be and this was what it took for a small startup to become the country’s trusted leader in medical evacuation.
They say necessity is the mother of invention, but what they don’t say is that it takes a lot of hard work, skill, and courage to pinpoint what is truly necessary to make that invention truly work.
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