County’s Top Ambulance Provider in Merger

In a move that could mean increased medical services for Ventura County residents, American Medical Response Inc., a Colorado-based ambulance company, has merged with the ambulance arm of Canadian transportation company Laidlaw Inc.

The resulting corporation combines the 12,000 employees and 2,500 vehicles of AMR with the 10,000 employees and 2,200 vehicles of San Diego-based MedTrans Inc., Ventura County’s largest ambulance service provider. MedTrans is owned by Laidlaw.

The new company, taking the AMR name, will continue to employ about 70 people in the county.

Steve Murphy, vice president of government relations for MedTrans California, said the transaction is unlikely to affect service in Ventura County right away. But, he said, residents may ultimately benefit from the creation of the significantly larger corporation.

“We’re excited about the future and range of services that we’ll be able to provide to our communities,” Murphy said.

“The ambulance industry is working hard to integrate itself into other types of pre-hospital and out-of-hospital services--home visits, welfare checks of chronically ill patients, certain types of out-of-hospital treatments,” he said. “These are all things that we may be looking at in the future in Ventura County.”

Combining the two companies, which serve a total of 35 states and have a combined annual net revenue of about $1.3 billion, could speed up the development of these services, Murphy said.

The new American Medical Response will combine the top management of both AMR and MedTrans. Murphy said few personnel changes are expected, and that means smoother operations.

“Ventura County has a very varied geography with population pockets separated from each other with approximately 10 minutes of open space,” he said. “In terms of moving resources among communities in a timely fashion, it takes expertise, which we’ve gained a little of over the last 34 years.”