Action Ambulance

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.

Action equips their ambulances with GPS technology to locate the closest, most appropriate ambulance to respond to an emergency. The GPS also assists in Action's regular collaborations with Boston MedFlight.

History
Action was founded in 1977 by physician Harry Portman and his two sons, Stan and David, with two ambulances. After their ambulance fleet grew too large, they established a new base of operations in Lynn, Massachusetts. Action is currently headquarted in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Emergency coverage
Action provides primary advanced life support (ALS) ambulances to the towns of Nahant, North Reading, Swampscott, Wakefield, Wilmington, Woburn, and others, and provides back-up ALS coverage to Lexington, and Winchester. Action currently provides ALS and BLS response in their newest contract the town of Ipswich. Action formally provided ALS coverage to Melrose; however, they lost the contract after 10 years of service to rival Cataldo Ambulance Service.

Academic involvement
Action approached Northern Essex Community College in January 2005 to express the need for an EMT training program in the Merrimack Valley area. 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.

The paramedic technology program prepares students for occupations in pre-hospital emergency medical care. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be qualified for certification by the Massachusetts OEMS, which allows  them to practice in Massachusetts. In addition, graduates will be eligible to take the national registry examination for registered paramedics (NREMT-P).

Community involvement
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. 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. Action also participates in mock prom crashes for public safety awareness, teaches CPR classes, and holds annual blood drives.