Did The Canadian System Fail Richardson?

My brother Tom posited an interesting question earlier this week following actress Natasha Richardson’s unfortunate skiing accident in Canada; something to the effect of:

If the health care system in Canada is superior to that of the US, why was Richardson flown to a hospital in New York?

My initial thought was, “well, to die of course”. However, a Canadian doctor’s contention that Quebec’s lack of a medial helicopter may have played a factor in Richardson’s death puts this question into a whole new context. “Our system isn’t set up for traumas and doesn’t match what’s available in other Canadian cities, let alone the states,” said Tarek Razek, director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, which represents six of Montreal’s hospitals.

Food for thought…