Start a Ambulance company or not

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escapedcaliFF

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If you had the finance backing to start a Ambulance company that services a rural population that only requires two BLS and two ALS would you? Competition would be non existent as the local FD is exploring the idea of dropping their ambulance section. Call volume is not their motivation for possibly dropping it.
 
sure why not? especially if money was no issue.

keep in mind, in most systems, you don't make the big bucks just by billing for 911 calls. you need to be monetarily supplemented by the city (or area you are covering, like the FD is), or have contracted IFT areas that is guaranteed money.
 
Only if you know what you're doing...
And judging by the fact that you're asking this as a vague question on an internet forum, I would assume that you don't have any experience running an ambulance company.
 
Underoath87 said:
Only if you know what you're doing...
And judging by the fact that you're asking this as a vague question on an internet forum, I would assume that you don't have any experience running an ambulance company.
Click to expand...

I'm being vague as to avoid injection of to much to sway responses. I'm well aware of the behind the scenes of running ambulance companies.
 
DrParasite said:
sure why not? especially if money was no issue.

keep in mind, in most systems, you don't make the big bucks just by billing for 911 calls. you need to be monetarily supplemented by the city (or area you are covering, like the FD is), or have contracted IFT areas that is guaranteed money.
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IFTs would deffiently come cause the only people doing it comes from about an hour away and are taking about 2-4 hours to show. We would most likely be able to secure IFTs from the regional hospital to the trama centers that are about 1 1/2 hour away.
 
In the very vague description you provided...NO I would NOT!

The ONLY way I would do it is if the County, City or Town paid for it. Period. Private reimbursement will never keep you afloat, especially if 911 only.
 
Ok let me give some more information. Local mine that is rather large would reimburse cost of running one of the ALS ambulances every year on the continued understanding that response times to their facility is within deemed approved timeframe. The mines insurance is actually more expensive cause the FD dosent not run their ambulances with single role medics. The FD won't do single role medics so the mines insurance carrier charges them extra feeling that proper ambulance services dose not currently exist.
 
I would just focus on provision of service to the mine then and forget the rest of the idea. Way more profitable and least risk of failure.
 
And if you want to network offline, let me know and lets do this! :)
 
akflightmedic said:
I would just focus on provision of service to the mine then and forget the rest of the idea. Way more profitable and least risk of failure.
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This was an idea. Mine dose have an EMT on staff. The mine has expressed their unfaith in the FD so they kinda want to stick it to FD by completely taking out their ambulance service. The mayor is actually backing the idea of an outside ambulance service while the FD is screaming bloody murder that they should be the only ambulance service. It's a political nightmare and the state EMS office actually put the FD under review cause of response times. The mine wants to avoid a dedicated ambulance just for them but has no problem backing the right people to service the whole area.
 
Underoath87 said:
And judging by the fact that you're asking this as a vague question on an internet forum, I would assume that you don't have any experience running an ambulance company.
Click to expand...
Chimpie takes a deep breath.... sighs....

This "internet forum" is the largest and most active in the industry. There's a reason people come here and ask questions.
 
Getting an ambulance service off the ground will cost an exorbitant amount of money. Hundreds of thousands of dollars would have to go into purchasing ambulances, ALS and BLS equipment, insurance, permits, and employees, and that doesn't include the time spent in getting all of your ducks in a row, approaching the town and places you wish to serve, showing your face at events and in the community, and the hours upon hours of behind-the-scenes time. I find it hard to believe that money would never be an issue. Also, fire may say they want it gone, but when that time comes they may change their tune.

If you want to staff a crew at the mine in-town, that may be a smaller project, but you still need to take into account all the above costs.

Also, I saw in one post that the fire department wants to drop their ambulance, then in your next they are fighting the town about dropping it? It's one or the other. And, chances are, if they truly want the FD ambulance out, they're going to open bids and offers for the town, and larger reputable companies will apply and have reasons why they should be taken on. What happens when you've spent all this money on starting a service for the town, and they decide to go against you? Then what?

And what kind of experience do you have in the matter? Simply "knowing what goes on behind the scenes" doesn't make you qualified, and it doesn't mean you actually have any clue on what's going on. We have no idea your background, so we have no idea if you're even capable of taking on the responsibilities.

Also, to truly nit pick, if you plan on running a business, you should have an understanding of grammar and spelling, and judging by some of the errors in your posts, it's something you may have to work on.
 
Chimpie said:
Chimpie takes a deep breath.... sighs....

This "internet forum" is the largest and most active in the industry. There's a reason people come here and ask questions.
Click to expand...
That may be true, but being the largest and most active doesn't necessarily mean that it's the most appropriate venue. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that the vast, overwhelming majority who frequent this forum have minimal first-hand experience that's truly relevant to the OP's question. But, yes, if I wanted input/opinions regarding what EMTs and Medics like and dislike about ambulance services so that I could make my service as desirable to them as possible I'd be hitting this forum hard. But the pros and cons of actually starting an Ambulance service? I'd be out of here and over at the NEMSMA Google Group picking their brains like there's no tomorrow.

YMMV, of course.....
 
Trauma Queen said:
Getting an ambulance service off the ground will cost an exorbitant amount of money. Hundreds of thousands of dollars would have to go into purchasing ambulances, ALS and BLS equipment, insurance, permits, and employees, and that doesn't include the time spent in getting all of your ducks in a row, approaching the town and places you wish to serve, showing your face at events and in the community, and the hours upon hours of behind-the-scenes time. I find it hard to believe that money would never be an issue. Also, fire may say they want it gone, but when that time comes they may change their tune.

If you want to staff a crew at the mine in-town, that may be a smaller project, but you still need to take into account all the above costs.

Also, I saw in one post that the fire department wants to drop their ambulance, then in your next they are fighting the town about dropping it? It's one or the other. And, chances are, if they truly want the FD ambulance out, they're going to open bids and offers for the town, and larger reputable companies will apply and have reasons why they should be taken on. What happens when you've spent all this money on starting a service for the town, and they decide to go against you? Then what?

And what kind of experience do you have in the matter? Simply "knowing what goes on behind the scenes" doesn't make you qualified, and it doesn't mean you actually have any clue on what's going on. We have no idea your background, so we have no idea if you're even capable of taking on the responsibilities.

Also, to truly nit pick, if you plan on running a business, you should have an understanding of grammar and spelling, and judging by some of the errors in your posts, it's something you may have to work on.
Click to expand...

Ok first off I said Fire is exploring the idea of dropping it I never said they wanted to. The town mayor wants it gone and so dose the largest employer (mine) but Fire is pushing back. It's been an ongoing issue. Second what makes me qualified is irrelevant but I do have close to two decades of service in DOD, Fire, and EMS in roles managing millions of dollars in equipment. I know how the system works and how to get things done. This is the United States with enough hard work you can do anything you put your mind to.
 
A large problem with EMS management is that leadership has long been chosen based on "years in service", without any specific business management or leadership training. While I've got extensive experience in managing both diverse teams and large budgets, I'm not afraid to say I know what I don't know. Take a good hard look at your true experience. Chances are you'd be in way over your head before you knew it. There is no way I'd ever consider starting an ambulance company without a HUGE amount of available capital and a consultant to help with planning operational efficiency and prevent me from making the same mistakes that others have made, who are no longer in business.
 
Managing equipment is entirely different than managing an entire company. And are you taking on providing EMS to the town, or is your employer? If it's your employer then YOU aren't starting an ambulance company, your employer is expanding a pre-existing company. If you're leaving your employer to start a company, then you already have competition.


Yes this is the United States and American dream and red white and blue, but that doesn't mean you can just start a company and survive. The American Dream™ doesn't stop thousands of businesses from closing every year, despite how badly they wanted it and how hard they tried. It certainly doesn't make it possible to just start a business and thrive right off the bat. The American Dream also doesn't pay the bills, or your employees, or insurance, or vehicle maintenance, or any of the long, long list of things that a company requires.


I'm not saying that you're going to fail. If you go for it, I hope you succeed. But running an ambulance company involves so much more than some blood, sweat, and tears, and thinking that you know everything about it and have enough money just sitting around.
 
I'm not saying I know everything so don't misunderstand. If I thought I knew everything about this or anything else I would probably be a horrible provider. I started this thread to judge if it's truly worth it. I was hoping for some more people with management experience to jump in. I just don't have experience managing equipment so don't misunderstand. I was just saying that cause equipment is always a huge expense. I have a couple people who are mentoring me through this process ranging from retired fire chiefs to a CEO of a very successful company. Myself and a couple interested silent parents would be starting this operation if we truly believe it is a business model worth the risk. My current employer is not an issue and neither is any of the big name EMS providers. This is just to small and remote of a market for them to be concerned about. My goal when I first convinced the silent partners was to explore the opportunity and if truly made sense pursue it. I am not only after profits as I have a personal interest in this area and want to make a difference. I'm an idealist. I saw something that was broken and thought I could truly make a difference for the people I care about. Moving forward it's a matter of if the people I plan to serve see that there is a better choice than a broken public funded Fire Department providing ambulance service. Some people in high places have already seen there is a better way. If moving forward we continue to pursue we have a long road and a hard fight againts a system plagued with unions and special interests. It's not a secret people are exploring these options. IAFF has already attacked me personally with flyers across this small town. It's when they go after you personally you know they are scared. I am fortunate my current employer has not taken it as I'm gonna be a competition but rather a possible provider doing what we all originally set out to do when we all decided upon this line of work and that putting the community first.
 
If I may be so blunt, it appears from reading your comments that you've already decided on what you're going to do and you're just looking for anonymous forum participants to tell you that it's a good idea. If you actually want to judge whether starting an ambulance company is, as you wrote, truly worth it, conduct a thorough SWOT analysis, build your business plan and then determine if the benefit is worth the risk.

With that said, and having read what you've written thus far, I am not optimistic regarding your chance of long term success. So, as an anonymous forum participant I will state that in my opinion no, it's not truly worth it. Do with that opinion as you see fit.
 
If your motivation is to prove someone wrong, you are not likely to succeed. It can help motivate, but is not the end all.

Also when it comes to expenses, people are what cost the company money. If you don't have people management skills, well...
 
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I say, if you have the money then go for it. All business start ups come with risk, I am sure big names in any industry took a big risk somewhere along the line that could have led to the fall, or non-startup of the company.

So if you know you may fail, and if you failing doesn't mean you cant provide to your family, then go for it.

Hope it works out, if you start getting big, PM me so I can buy some shares!
 
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