Ambulance Service of Manchester

Overview

ASM (the Ambulance Service of Manchester) is a privately-owned commercial service which provides both emergency medical response and medical transportation. Its coverage area is extensive, expanding throughout Hartford county and the surrounding region. ASM is currently headquartered in Manchester, Connecticut, and operates a fleet of 22 ambulances. ASM currently employs in excess of 200 employees. The company has, in recent years, joined in a corporate partnership with Hartford Healthcare Corporation and ECHN (Eastern Connecticut Health Network).

History

The company itself was founded in 1959 by Roger Talbot Sr. as a single proprietorship. As the sole employee, he operated from a local Ford dealership, providing medical transportation to the community in a single hearse-style Cadillac. ASM is also a founding member of the Connecticut Medical Transportation Service (CMTS). This service originated through the cooperation of seven different ambulance companies, as well as three wheelchair and livery services.

Emergency Medical Coverage

Emergency services, as well as paramedic intercepts, are provided to towns throughout the Hartford, Tolland, and Windham regions. ASM provides emergency coverage in the following towns: Manchester, East Hartford, South Windsor, Glastonbury, and Bolton, Connecticut. ALS (Advanced Life Support) coverage is also provided to the surrounding communities on a mutual-aid basis.

The primary service areas are currently covered by Paramedics from the Manchester and East Hartford Fire departments, which provide the majority of ALS emergency treatment. In these towns, ASM responds with the fire department and provides emergency medical transportation to the surrounding hospitals. ASM will also provide its own Paramedics at the request of the respective towns.

Routine Medical Transportation

Along with emergency medical coverage, ASM also provides routine medical transportation for individuals. ASM provides a variety of routine transfer services, to include: transportation between hospitals and convalescent facilities, dialysis transportation, supervised psychiatric transportation, long-distance transfers between facilities, transportation to a physician's appointment, etc.

Along with these routine services, ASM regularly accepts “stat” transports. These are circumstances that require timely transportation. Some examples of these include: transportation with a Connecticut Children’s Medical Center specialty team, transportation with Life-Star personnel, transportation of organ harvesting teams to designated hospitals, etc.

Facilities and Medical Equipment

; Dispatch Center: ASM operates a modern dispatch center, which is staffed 24 hours a day. Dispatchers at ASM currently utilize a state-of-the-art Computer-Assisted Dispatch system (Sanitas Right-CAD), along with a Booking/Billing setup which allows for total patient recall. Dispatch has constant tracking abilities on all emergency vehicles via GPS-enabled equipment and mobile pagers.

; On-Site Maintenance Facility: ASM currently operates and staffs a maintenance facility within its headquarters. The three-bay maintenance facility officially went into operation in April of 2006. It provides maintenance services for ASM, as well as Aetna and Metro Wheelchair Service. A two-person, ASC certified maintenance crew currently provides the services. The facility is full-functioning, to include: Alignment machines, computerized tire balancing, overhaul capabilities, engine and transmission maintenance, etc.

; Emergency Vehicles: ASM currently employs a fleet of 22 Ford E-350 Econoline ambulances, as well as an International 4700 Bariatric specialty ambulance. Every ambulance is equipped with a Kenwood state-wide radio system, with UHF and low-band capability.

; Equipment: Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians at ASM are aided in their provision of care by modern medical equipment. This includes, but is not limited to:
*Physio-Control / LifePak-12 cardiac monitors, which are equipped with:
**12-lead EKG with serial port data transmission
**End-tidal CO2 monitoring
**Pulse Oximetry
**Non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP)
**Transcutaneous cardiac pacing
*Pneupac paraPac 200D portable Automatic Transport Ventilators
*Emergency Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) delivery devices on each Paramedic vehicle
*HARE traction devices for long-bone traction
*Military Anti-Shock Trousers (MAST)
*Kendrick Extrication Devices (KED)
*Ferno EZGlide devices for transferring seated patients down a flight of stairs.
ASM currently has a contract with Marcus Communications for radio and GPS requirements.

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