Overview

header-title-decorationOverview

The County of Los Angeles has provided ambulance services to Health Services (Health Services) patients
since 1897. Starting with a horse drawn vehicle, this is one of the oldest ambulance services in the State. Today, Health Services operates a modern ambulance fleet, staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to provide care and transportation to medically indigent patients, to and from County facilities.

In addition to the general ambulance fleet of about thirty, the County has two ambulances equipped for neonatal care and transportation, and one ambulance specially designed for the care and transportation of bariatric patients.

The Department’s Ambulance Services section is administered by the EMS Agency and handles approximately 4,000 transports per month through our Central Dispatch Office (CDO). In addition to transporting patients to and from healthcare facilities, our EMT teams:

  • Meet the emergency flight teams and their critical patient passengers arriving by helicopter from the helipad at LA General Medical Center to the Emergency Department
  • Respond to man-down calls on the campus of LA General Medical Center to provide care and transport to the Emergency Department
  • Provide transport of in-custody patients between the jails and health facilities
  • Transport specialized neonatal teams to infants in need of transfer to Neonatal Intensive Care Units at County facilities
  • Assist in special or unforeseen events such as responding to disasters, helping the Hurricane Katrina victims that were relocated to the Dream Center in 2005, and assisting Public Health after the torrential rain storms in Lynwood in 2004.

Any calls that cannot be handled by our Ambulance Services are contracted out to private ambulance companies, including calls that require paramedic or registered nurse level of care. Our Ambulance Services and Central Dispatch Office staff provide an invaluable service to County patients and hospitals. By efficiently moving patients, they help to decrease the congestion at Health Services facilities and emergency departments. If you have any questions about the Health Services Ambulance Services, contact Robert Moore, Operations Chief, at 562-378-2404.