Priority Ambulance to begin serving Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County -

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County announced on July 17th that it has entered into a partnership with Priority Ambulance to provide all patient medical transport services to the hospital, and it will serve as Union County’s emergency 9-1-1 service provider starting on August 15.

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.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County

“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 Union 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 to also serve as the Prentiss County 9-1-1 emergency service provider. Priority Ambulance will begin the same partnership with Baptist Memorial Hospital-Calhoun and Calhoun County on August 1.

About Priority Ambulance

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 community of companies operates under trusted local brands. 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.