Rural Metro

Rural Metro Corporation (Rural Metro) is a provider of emergency and non-emergency medical transportation services, fire protection and other safety-related services to municipal, residential, commercial and industrial customers in approximately 350 communities throughout the United States.

History
Rural Metro, the second-largest private ambulance provider in the United States, was founded in 1948 by Lou Witzeman, when he became concerned that his neighborhood didn't have fire protection. He pooled together some money, bought a fire truck, and asked his neighbors to subscribe to his company. The company was founded and is still based in Scottsdale, Arizona. As of 2005, it employs over 8,000 people who answer 1.5 million calls for service yearly, from approximately 350 communities in 23 states.

Services Provided

 * Emergency medical transportation;
 * Non-emergency general medical transportation to healthcare facilities and health management organizations;
 * Fire protection services, including community, airport, industrial and wildland specialties; and,
 * Emergency training services to private and commercial enterprise.

Rural/Metro has recently had some trouble with it's finances. It paid out $2.75 to the Federal Government due to a Medicare scandal and almost lost it's listing on NASDAQ in 2006 for failing to file paperwork with the Listing group. Rural/Metro has also come under fire for problems with the level of care provided to communities. Some Rescue Squads are incorrectly stocked and are not prepared for certain emergency situations. Also, the skill level of some of the personnel and lack of a qualified and unified training structure is a weak point in this Critical Care Provider's track record.

Related Information
Rural Metro also owns Southwest Ambulance of Arizona. It, however, no longer manages Medstar in Fort Worth.