In the United States, private ambulance companies provide 911 emergency services in large cities as well as most rural areas by contracting with local governments. In areas where the county or city provides its own 911 service, private companies provide discharges and transfers from hospitals and to and from other health-related facilities and homes.
In most areas private companies are part of the local government emergency disaster plan and are relied on heavily for overall EMS response, treatment and recovery. In some areas they provide only non-urgent patient transport; in others they are contracted to provide emergency care, or to form a second-tier response when all full-time units are committed.
Interfacility transport is typically provided to a patient who needs to be moved to a facility that can provide a higher or more specialized level of care, or transferred back to a local hospital or nursing home when specialized care is no longer required.
Some private agencies also place EMTs, paramedics and nurses at construction sites, hospitality settings, restaurants and industrial sites.
The trade-off
The private sector has poor wages and poor benefits, with little to no job security. New-hire transport EMTs begin at minimum wage, only recently raised from $15.00 per hour, rising around $0.50 to $1.00 a year.
| Title | Stage | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| EMT | New hire | $17.00/hr |
| EMT | Annual progression | $0.50–1.00/hr per year |
| Paramedic | Entry | $28–35/hr |
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