July 17, 2017
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Calhoun and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County announced today that the facilities have entered into a partnership with Priority Ambulance to provide all patient medical transport services to the hospitals. Priority Ambulance will serve as Calhoun County’s emergency 9-1-1 service provider starting on August 1 pending approval by the City of Calhoun and as Union County’s 9-1-1 service provider staring on August 15.
“Based on the successful implementation in other Baptist service areas, we believe our new partnership with Priority Ambulance will lead to improved efficiency and high-quality emergency services in Calhoun County,” said Baptist Calhoun administrator and CEO James Franklin. “This transition will be seamless for patients, and our emergency medical technicians will continue to staff the ambulances.”
“We are excited to extend Priority Ambulance’s medical transport services to the patients at Baptist Union County and to our community,” said Baptist Union County administrator and CEO Walter J. Grace. “This transition will be seamless for patients. Our emergency medical technicians will continue to staff the ambulances, and the ambulances themselves will continue to wear the Baptist name.”
“Baptist Memorial hospitals are the leaders in their communities, promoting and protecting public health and helping patients get better,” said Priority Ambulance CEO Bryan Gibson. “Priority Ambulance is grateful for the opportunity to support Baptist in those efforts. Being a Mississippi native, I am excited to be able to return to my roots and help raise the standard of medical transport services in Calhoun County.”
On April 1, Priority Ambulance began providing patient transport services to Baptist Memorial Health Care facilities in the greater Memphis area, including operating a neonatal emergency services program through the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital.
On June 1, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville joined in the strategic partnership with Priority Ambulance to provide patient transport services to its facilities and also to serve as the Prentiss County 9-1-1 emergency service provider.
Priority Ambulance is a national company headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, that provides ambulance services in nine states. It is not affiliated with Priority Medical, a company that has recently entered the North Mississippi area.
About Priority Ambulance
Based in Knoxville, Tenn., Priority Ambulance provides the highest level of clinical excellence in emergency and nonemergency medical care to the communities it serves. Throughout its national service area, approximately 2,000 highly trained paramedics and EMTs staff a fleet of approximately 400 state-of-the-art vehicles with the latest medical equipment and technology.
Priority Ambulance’s family of companies operates under trusted local brands providing medical transport options in nine states. The Priority Ambulance company partners include Shoals Ambulance in Alabama; Maricopa Ambulance in Arizona; Puckett EMS in Georgia and Southeast Tennessee; Central EMS in Georgia; Seals Ambulance in Indiana; Kunkel Ambulance in Upstate New York; Trans Am Ambulance in western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania; Medshore Ambulance in South Carolina; and Priority Ambulance in East Tennessee. Priority Ambulance also serves Baptist Memorial Health Care facilities in West Tennessee and Mississippi under the Baptist brand.
For more information, visit ww.priorityambulance.com. Individuals interested in joining Priority Ambulance should visit www.priorityambulance.com/employment.
About Baptist Memorial Health Care
One of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health care systems, Baptist Memorial Health Care offers a full continuum of care to communities throughout the Mid-South. The Baptist system, which consistently ranks among the top integrated health care networks in the nation, comprises 21 affiliate hospitals in West Tennessee, North Mississippi and East Arkansas; more than 4,000 affiliated physicians; Baptist Medical Group, a multispecialty physician group with more than 500 providers; home, hospice and psychiatric care; minor medical centers and clinics; a network of surgery, rehabilitation and other outpatient centers; and an education system highlighted by the Baptist College of Health Sciences. The Baptist system employs more than 18,000 people, and in fiscal year 2013, contributed $239 million in community benefit to areas it serves. According to the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Memphis, Baptist Memorial Health Care’s annual economic impact is estimated at more than $2.6 billion. For more information, please visit www.baptistonline.org.