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Ambulance Service Spotlight

This page provides information for American Ambulance Association member organizations selected for an Ambulance Service Spotlight article.

If you would like to request consideration for a Spotlight profile of your ambulance service, please email ariordan@ambulance.org. Services are selected for onsite visits based on geography, membership status, reputation, advocacy priorities, and schedule availability. Interview via email may also be possible in select circumstances.

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the American Ambulance Association’s Ambulance Service Spotlight program. Our new Spotlight series will help AAA highlight the incredible importance of private EMS within the healthcare system.

What to Expect From an AAA Interview

AAA staff will arrive at the appointed time to interview your leader(s) and medic(s) in the order of your choosing. We would deeply appreciate the opportunity to have a short tour of your facility, particularly if this allows us to take photos of your teams “in action”—restocking ambulances, dispatching calls, etc.

Over the course of our visit to your service, we will use the questions and topics below to help us learn as much as possible about your organization. These are not intended to be exhaustive, and we look forward to speaking with you in person in hopes of capturing the special “color” and personality of your ambulance service.

After we leave, AAA staff will produce a draft article for your review within 30 days. Upon your confirmation of the facts in the article, we will post it to the www.ambulance.org site as well as disseminate via email and social media.

If you have questions, please contact Amanda Riordan at ariordan@ambulance.org or 703-610-0264.

Sample Questions

Company Background

  • When was your organization founded? By whom?
  • What is the structure of your company? (Is your organization private or public? For-profit or not-for-profit? Are you standalone, hospital based, etc?)
  • What geographic area do you serve? Is it urban, rural, suburban?
  • What kinds of services do you offer? (911, ALS, BLS, aeromedical, wheelchair van, stretcher van, dispatch, community paramedicine/mobile integrated health, etc)
  • How many vehicles do you operate?
  • How many transports do you conduct annually?
  • How many employees do you have? How many are EMTs/Paramedics?
  • Do you have a formal mission or vision statement you could share?

 

Ambulance Executive Leader Interview

AAA would love the opportunity to interview and photograph your president, CEO or other senior executive leader(s) who can act as the face and voice of your service.

  • How did you get involved in EMS? How did you become a leader?
  • What is a typical day like?
  • What are your company’s core values? How are these reflected in your organization?
  • Do you feel that there is a hiring crisis in your area (or in EMS in general)?
  • How do you screen and hire new staff? What characteristics or personality traits are you looking for in medics?
  • When someone new is hired, do you have a specific onboarding process that helps acclimate the new employees?
  • Do you offer continuing education for your EMTs and Paramedics?
  • Do you have any special programs or incentives to retain staff?
  • What do you feel are the most important characteristics or habits for EMS leaders?
  • What advice would you give someone considering a career in EMS?
  • What do you consider the most important challenges facing EMS today?
  • Is your organization struggling with low Medicare reimbursement rates?
  • Are you involved with federal or state advocacy for ambulance industry issues?
  • Are there any specific state-level advocacy issues your service is facing?
  • Are there any stories from transports, natural disaster recovery, etc of which you are particularly proud?
  • Do you have any thoughts about where the future will take EMS?
  • Is there anything else you’d like to share with your EMS colleagues?
  • OPTIONAL: How does participation in the American Ambulance Association help your ambulance service? Why would your recommend membership to a fellow service?

Medic Interviews

AAA staff would appreciate the opportunity to speak briefly with 1–2 senior medics or supervisors, and/or medics with particularly newsworthy or inspiring personal or EMS stories. As we will take pictures, it would be ideal if they can be interviewed in uniform, if possible.

  • How long have you been a medic? How long have you been at this organization?
  • What’s the best part of your job?
  • What’s the most challenging part of your job?
  • What is a typical day like?
  • What advice would you give someone considering a career in EMS?
  • What does being a medic mean to you?

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