| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Ambulance service |
| Founded | Melrose, Massachusetts, 1977 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Area served | Greater Boston, Massachusetts |
| Key people | David Portman (President) Michael Woronka (CEO) |
| Website | http://www.actionambulance.com |
Action Ambulance Service, Inc., based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, provides ambulance services for emergencies and patient transfers. They provide emergency and non-emergency pre-hospital medical care and transportation to ill or injured individuals. Action is currently contracted to serve as the emergency medical services provider for various communities north of Boston through 2008.[1] Action was recently awarded the silver award from Mass Excellence and is now 1 of only 2 ambulance companies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to be CAAS accredited.
Action Ambulance equips their ambulances with GPS technology to locate the closest, most appropriate ambulance to respond to an emergency. The GPS is also used to assist Action's regular collaborations with Boston MedFlight.[2]
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Action Ambulance serves more than 1,000,000 residents of Boston’s north suburbs, covering 112 square miles (290 km2) and respond to more than 35,000 calls a year. Action Ambulance also provides emergency and non-emergency coverage for the communities of Ipswich, Beverly, Peabody, Swampscott, Lynn, Salem, Nahant, Lynnfield, Wakefield, Melrose, Stoneham, Winchester, Woburn, Lexington, Wilmington, Reading and North Reading. Action Ambulance has fourteen base locations, with its headquarters being based in Wilmington.
Action approached Northern Essex Community College in January 2005 to express the need for an EMT training program in the Merrimack Valley area.[3] Action worked closely with NECC throughout the planning and design phases of the program. NECC's governance approval process occurred in November 2005 and the proposed program received NECC Board of Trustees approval on April 5, 2006. The College prepared and submitted an application for accreditation to the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services. An on-site visit was conducted on January 17, 2006, and the proposed program subsequently received full approval.[4]
The paramedic technology program is intended to prepare students for occupations in pre-hospital emergency medical care. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are qualified for certification by the Massachusetts OEMS, which allows them to practice in Massachusetts. In addition, graduates are eligible to take the national registry examination for registered paramedics (NREMT-P).[5]
In June 2007, Action helped the city of Woburn, Massachusetts achieve the status of "HeartSafe Community" from the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Health Services by teaming up with the mayor's office and the fire department.[6] The HeartSafe Community program was developed by the Massachusetts OEMS, through the Department of Public Health in conjunction with the American Heart Association to help communities improve the chances that anyone suffering sudden cardiac arrest will survive. A community earns the designation by completing community CPR training, having emergency response vehicles equipped with automated external defibrillators, and placement of AEDs in public locations where large volumes of people congregate or in locations where people are at higher risk for cardiac arrest.[7] Action also participates in mock prom crashes for public safety awareness, teaches CPR and Emergency Medical Technician classes, and also holds annual blood drives.[8]