Acadian Ambulance is gearing up for Hurricane Laura, and that includes new vehicles ready to assist in evacuations.
In addition to 615 ambulances and a medical team numbering over 3,000 medics, Acadian Ambulance has added new resources to further enhance their robust mass casualty response and evacuation services.
In 2019, Acadian added two ambulance buses to their fleet of ambulances and aircraft. Known as an Ambus, these buses are dedicated patient evacuation vehicles, with a capacity of transporting up to 20 patients at a time. One Ambus, stationed in Southeast Texas, was the result of a partnership Acadian entered into with the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council and Texas Emergency Medical Task Force 6.
So impressed with the expanded capability that the ambulance bus offered, Acadian added a second Ambus to their fleet, stationed in Monroe, Louisiana. Both Ambus units can be quickly repositioned and sent to areas in need of additional resources for natural disaster responses; evacuations; first-responder rehab services during large-scale events; mass-casualty incidents; training with public safety agencies, hospitals and nursing homes; and standbys.
“The added capability of the ambulance buses allows Acadian to better serve our facilities and our patients,” said Acadian Chairman & CEO Richard Zuschlag. “Moving a greater number of patients in a safe and comfortable manner greatly increases our response capabilities. This is important not only for initial evacuations, such as those being conducted right now in preparation for Hurricane Laura, but also for returning patients and nursing home residents to their facilities quickly after a threat has passed,” he added.
Both of Acadian’s Ambus units are currently being used to evacuate patients prior to Hurricane Laura’s landfall. In addition, the City of New Orleans Emergency Medical Services is sending their ambulance bus to Southwest Louisiana to further enhance evacuation efforts. “We are grateful for Mayor Cantrell and NOEMS Chief Bill Salmeron for sending resources to help. We have a great partnership with them and we appreciate their support,” Zuschlag said.
Acadian Ambulance is one of the largest ambulance services in the nation, offering emergency and non-emergency transportation to areas in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee. They are employee-owned and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services.
