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International SOS
Founded1985
FoundersArnaud Vaissié
Pascal Rey-Herme
Headquarters
London and Singapore
Area served
Global
Number of employees
10,994

International SOS is a health and security service firm. The company takes around four million assistance calls every year[1] and has almost two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500 companies as clients.[2]

Services

International SOS focuses on helping organisations and their people reduce exposure to, and mitigate, health, wellbeing and security risks.[3] Their services include providing a feed of information on world events, assistance services, health consultancy and programmes, education, advice and medical equipment.[4] It advises on preventive programmes and assisting with emergency response for employees, including domestic workers, business travellers, expatriates and their dependents. Its centres are staffed by physicians, nurses, paramedics, EMT's, operations managers, multilingual coordinators and logistics support personnel. It also has a global network of external service providers including specialist doctors, hospitals, ambulances, charter aircraft and security personnel.[citation needed]

The firm's Tracker service monitors the travel of 10 million people, helping organisations to know where their employees are in a crisis.[5] The firm joined risk management consultancy Control Risks in releasing an itinerary-forwarding feature TravelTracker in 2016.[6]

The firm operates air ambulances services out of South Africa, Singapore, China, Papua New Guinea, and the Middle East. It airlifted 18,000 emergency cases in 2008.[7]

Organisation

International SOS is a privately owned company. They work with educational organisations,[8] corporate clients (including the majority of the Fortune Global 500),[2] corporate clients (including 89% of the Fortune Global 100 and 64% of Fortune Global 500), governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).[citation needed]

The firm has headquarters in Singapore and London. It operates worldwide via 81 offices and 26 assistance centres serving over 1,000 locations in 90 countries.[9]

The firm takes around 4 million assistance calls every year with 99 languages and dialects spoken in their Assistance Centres, clinics and offices.[1]

History

International SOS
International SOS clinic staff moving a patient into their clinic in Lagos, Nigeria

Pascal Rey-Herme, a doctor, and Arnaud Vaissié, a businessman, founded a company (then called AEA International) in 1985 to provide medical assistance services to expatriate communities and international organisations in Southeast Asia. Over the following decade, the company grew from its base in Singapore and Indonesia into a pan-Asian corporation, with operations in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and mainland China. Key clients included oil and gas companies with operations in remote locations.

In 1998, AEA International acquired International SOS Assistance, a group of corporations founded in 1974 by Claude Giroux a Canadian entrepreneur, creating the largest medical assistance company in the world.[2] Initially, it was known as AEA International SOS, and was renamed International SOS in 1999. The acquisition extended the company beyond Asia.[citation needed]

In 2012, International SOS moved its UK headquarters to Chiswick Business Park, West London.[citation needed]

Growth and acquisitions

In 2008 the firm launched a strategic alliance with Control Risks to offer combined medical and security services,[10] and acquired MedAire, a provider of remote medical services for aviation and maritime founded by Joan Sullivan Garrett.[11]

In 2009, the company acquired a majority stake in Abermed, a UK-based provider of occupational health and remote medical services to the energy sector.[12] In 2010, it developed a strategic alliance with RMSI, an international rapid deployment medical and rescue service, with activities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia and Pakistan.

International SOS medical staffs performing offshore emergency MEDEVAC in oil and gas drilling platform in Andaman Sea, Myanmar.

In 2011, it merged with VIPdesk, a North American provider of concierge services, customer care and loyalty programs, acquired the medical supplies division of SMI (Service Médical International), acquired of L.E. West, EMC, Shenton Pharmacy and Nutracare Pharma, and launched a joint venture in Brazil with International Health Care.

In 2012, it acquired EMSM, a concierge and lifestyle company in South Korea. And in 2013, it acquired Norwegian companies SBHT, KBHT, Haugaland HMS, and Nordic Medical Services (NMS), and partnered with Aerosafety, a medical and aviation safety equipment company in Brazil.

In 2014, it launched Response Services Australia, a provider of emergency response, rescue and recovery services, entered a partnership with AMAS medical Services in India, acquired Aeromed in Mozambique, and created strategic partnership with West African Rescue Association (WARA), a clinic and medical services company in West Africa.[13]

In 2016, it entered a strategic partnership with Everbridge.[citation needed]

In 2017, it entered a Duty of Care integration with Rocketrip, started joint venture partnerships with Global Excel and Iqarus, acquired International Health Solutions[14] and launched a digital consultation service from Aberdeen Health Centre.[15] It also started the world's first emotional support service for the mobile workforce.

International SOS medical team evacuated an injured patient from remote area of Myanmar to capital Yangon with Cessna Caravan

In 2019, it took full responsibility of the services it was previously providing as part of the Control Risks joint venture, to provide its consolidated Security Services suite to clients.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it rapidly expanded its TeleConsultation services, part of its TeleHealth services, to over 30 countries.

Major assistance

International SOS has provided medical advice, assistance, and travel safety services during and after a number of major incidents.[16] These include the COVID-19 pandemic,[17] the Jakarta unrest,[16] the Mumbai terrorist attacks by helping those directly impacted by the event,[18] and the Yemen crisis.[19]

It has provided service during disease crises, including the provided medical assistance during the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2003 SARS outbreak[20] and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.[21][22][23] It also provided assistance to victims of the 2002 Bali terrorist bombing.[24]

It has dealt with major natural disasters such as the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the 2005 Hurricane Wilma,[25] the 2010 Haiti earthquake,[26] the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,[27] the 2014 Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu,[28] and the Sabah earthquake in Malaysia.[29]

The firm has also provided services to major sporting events such as the Summer Olympic Games in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012, and the 2010 Asian Games.[30]

In 2006, International SOS's medical transports became the first direct flights between mainland China and Taiwan to be flown since 1949.[31]

Awards

International SOS has received the following recognition and awards:

International SOS Foundation

The International SOS Foundation launched in March 2012 with a grant from International SOS as a registered charity that is a fully independent and non-profit organisation.[50]

The Foundation has the goal of improving the safety, security, health and welfare of people working abroad or on remote assignments through the study, understanding and mitigation of potential risks. It has published, and acts as a repository for, a number of academic papers, articles and advisory notes on these topics.[51]

In 2016, the Foundation introduced the Duty of Care Awards to recognise organisations and individuals who have made a significant contribution to protecting their staff as they travel and work overseas.[52]

In 2017, the Duty of Care Summit was launched, bringing together industry leaders to share best practices in the safety and security of the mobile and remote workforce; this event took place on the day of the Duty of Care Awards.

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c "Risky business". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  3. ^ "The Times - Raconteur Business Risk Strategies" (PDF). The Times - Raconteur Business Risk Strategies. The Times. June 11, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 18, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "TRICARE Sends $269.1M SOS for Overseas Health Care". Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  5. ^ Levere, Jane L. (2015-01-26). "In Emergencies, Companies Are Turning to Employee-Tracking Services". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
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  12. ^ cmx (2014-06-05). "NVM Private Equity-backed Abermed responds to International SOS". NVM Private Equity. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
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  17. ^ "The New Era of Quarantine: A Muddled set of Travel Rules". Financial Times.
  18. ^ "Executives seek five-star security - FT.com". Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  19. ^ BBC News (2015) International SOS Regional Security Director Julian Moro on BBC World News. Available at: https://www.internationalsos.com/newsroom/news-releases/international-sos-regional-security-director-julian-moro-on-bbc-world-news-apr-16-2015 Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed: 28 July 2015)
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  22. ^ "Business in the time of Ebola". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  23. ^ RM Professional (2015) Getting Disasters Right. Available at: https://www.internationalsos.com/~/media/corporate/files/documents/coverage/rmpsum2015pp26_29.pdf Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed: 28 July 2015)
  24. ^ Nishimoto, Erika (December 2002). "International SOS Mass Casualty Evacuation - Bali 12 Oct 2002". Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 17 (S2): S21–S22. doi:10.1017/S1049023X00009419. ISSN 1049-023X.
  25. ^ "Britons stranded after Wilma hits". 2005-10-25. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
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  27. ^ Carey, Susan; Burton, Thomas M.; Maxwell, Kenneth (2011-03-18). "Foreign Companies Step Up Evacuation Efforts". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
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