Starting your own EMS Company?

[Mikeb25]

Hello! Thanks for reading this post.

What do you think it will cost to start an EMS Company in Maine?

I haven't taken basic classes yet, but I'm starting in September.

I'd like to work my way to become a paramedic before I started my own company, but that

made me want to look into it early.

I'd like to provide emergency services, non-emergency services, and special event stand-by.

I'd like to get a smaller building, with at least 2 bays, I have a building in mind if its still for sale then. (Not sure about the price.)

For vehicles, I'd like to have 2 or 3 ambulances, a wheelchair accessible van, and a paramedic car.

Saying that - I've found ambulances that are around the 10k range for sale.

I'm not sure how much the equipment would be? But I know some of it can be very expensive.

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Questions I'd really like answered:

A good start up cost for the company to have out of my own pocket?

What kind of employees I should have and how many? ( Basic, Inter, Paramedic, Dispatch, Etc.)

A fair price to charge for ambulance services?

On average how much would it cost to stock 2 ambulances, and a paramedic car to start with? ( Ball park estimates are good)

How to get contracts with insurance companies and hospitals?

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I have some financial plans, and I know starting an ambulance company can be very costly,

and its not just something to jump into. I read about having a business plan, such as having an:

executive summary, funding requirements, current market conditions, management backgrounds, company strengths, company weaknesses, financial analysis and investor return analysis.

How would I set out a business plan like this?

I'm not sure what is the best way to start out with this.

So any help or tips and prayers would be great! Thank you! - Mike.

References:

For how to start an EMS company: http://mdonner.net/ems_article.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_6684639_start-ambulance-company.html

Gear sites: http://www.511tactical.com/

http://www.galls.com/home

Ambulance sale sites: http://ambulancetrader.com/

These are some sites I've looked at, if you have any kind of comment or recommendations for any of these or other sites that would be great! Thanks!

[rock_shoes]

Mike, I think your a few decades too late. The time for mom & pop with big hearts is drawing to a close.

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[Mikeb25]

Lol, Thanks for the reply!

But if you were asked these questions, how else would you reply - to help me with getting started.

If I have years to save up and work towards what I'd like to do with this,

The building is relatively small, and theirs different ways to finance towards a business.

Any other advice that can help with any of this? .

[cscboulder11]

Do you have money or investors lined up? If no, kill your dream now.

Do you have political friends? If no, kill your dream now and bury it 6 feet under.

If the answer is yes to both, continue.

How are you going to meet your overhead? County contract (facing opposition) or private?

Overhead is going to include:

-EMT-B / AEMT / Paramedic salary + benefits + health plan + whatever else

-Ambulances (are they going to be new or used? How much will you pay in gas?)

-Company building (factor in maintenance, gas, water, electricity, phone, etc.)

-Equipment

-Drugs

-Human resources

-PR

-Your salary

-Maintenance on ambulances

What makes you a different (and better) employer of EMTs/Paramedics than others? Who's going to act as medical control and write protocols? What are you going to do when you don't meet overhead? What's your short term plan? Long term? Do you know your state's certification requirements? How many ambulances will you need? What makes your company better than others? Can you get a loan? What if your company goes under? Do you have a plan to meet final paychecks? Do you know your state's employment laws? OSHA's?

Answer those and you might have a company. It's far better to be realistic now than throw money at a doomed concept.

[paramedicmike]

My big question is why do you want to start a company in a business in which you have no certifications? In which you haven't even started classes yet?

Then I'd want to know how you know you're really committed to this? Or are you simply seeing dollar signs?

[rock_shoes]

Boulder gave you a great overview of the questions you need answered. Before moving forward you need to establish that their exists an actual need for the type of service you're proposing. Does the area you're looking to serve lack available ALS staffed ambulances? If their is already a service in place for the area the reality is they'll squash you rather quickly. Beyond that I don't really know what to tell you.

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[Arctickat]

I smell a troll.

If you found an ambulance for 10k...walk away. It's one that's at the end of its service life and will likely cost more to keep on the road than it will make. 250k miles on it wouldn't be a surprise. I've known guys who traded in their old ambulance for a Stryker MX Pro...and not the power pro either.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Arctickat

[DwayneEMTP]

You should probably figure, depending on the population that you intend to serve, if you can get such a population which without political friends is unlikely, from $1Million, to many many millions for a start-up cost.

There is not a single thing that is involved that isn't very expensive. Buying the ambulance and stocking it is coffee money compared to the rest of the costs mentioned above.

Not trying to stone your dream to death Brother, but trying to be realistic.

[mobey]

Don't forget to cost in a Medical Director salary, and a lawyer.

[Bieber]

Some other things to consider are:

-Local and state ordinances/laws regarding the governing of an ambulance service, as well as its registration. Like Mobey said, you'll probably need a lawyer to help you go over the laws and make sure you're in compliance with all of the paperwork needed to register/certify this service.

-Stocking. Do you know how to do it? Do you know how to legally acquire prescription drugs for EMS use? What about narcotics? More paperwork that you may need legal guidance to understand/complete.

-Radios or other communication devices. What are the laws regarding EMS communication standards? Do you know how to obtain the right radios (if that's what's required and/or what you intend to use) and how to program them? If not, do you know who to turn to to obtain that service? $$

-Ambulance decals/paint. $$

-Advertising for non-emergency transfers. $$

-Competing for, winning, understanding, and complying with hospital contracts for non-emergency service. Better just keep the lawyer at your side 24/7. $$

-Complying with federal, state and local employee relations. Wages, insurance and other benefits, retirement, sick leave, vacation, hiring standards, rules and regulations on terminating employees.

-Taxes. I don't know about you, but doing my own personal taxes is a real bitch--doing taxes for a private company seems like a monster to me. You'll either have to learn how to do it, or shell out the money to pay someone to do it for you.

-Billing. This is another huge field where you're probably going to have to pay money to someone smart enough to understand how it works. When you can bill, when you can't bill, what to do when medicare says your information is incomplete or just refuses to pay. Maintaining compliance with their rules and regulations, etc. $$

Aside from the pure monetary cost of creating an EMS service, there are a lot of things to it that require specialized knowledge that will require either a lot of research on your part or a lot of very intelligent people who all share your dream and who are dedicated to making it a reality. I don't want to discourage you, but just keep in mind that even Dwayne's million dollar estimate could very well be the case and in fact even be an underestimate.

If this is what you really want to do, then by all means pursue it, just be ready to have the answer to every possible question/problem/dilemma you might face (or have access to someone who can help you get the answer), and consider that even if you do everything right, it could still fail--in which case you need to have an answer for that problem too, because the debt you incur in this endeavor won't disappear so easily.