Huntsville Emergency Medical Services

What Huntsville Emergency Medical Services does

Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (HEMSI) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit emergency medical services provider founded in 1981 and headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the contracted exclusive 911 EMS provider for Madison County, serving more than 370,000 residents across 800+ square miles with 265 employees, 12 stations, and a fleet of 36 ambulances handling approximately 65,000+ calls per year. HEMSI also operates an Accredited Center of Excellence 911 Communications Center equipped with Automated Vehicle Locator (AVL) and GIS-based dispatch technology, and provides non-emergency patient transport, CPR and First Aid training, and contracted standby services for federal installations (Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal) and community events.

HEMSI's revenue model is fee-for-service rather than tax-funded: approximately 90% of operating funds are derived from patient transport fees billed to patients and their insurance providers, and the remaining 10% comes from standby contracts, event services, and miscellaneous sources. It holds dual regulatory accreditations — the first and only CAAS-accredited ambulance service in Alabama and an IAED Accredited Center of Excellence for its 911 center — and has received four consecutive American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline Gold Plus awards for STEMI cardiac care, a NASA Silver Snoopy award, and the DoD Atlantic Region EMS Provider of the Year designation. Strategic partnerships with Huntsville Hospital, Crestwood Hospital, the American Heart Association, the United Way of Madison County, and four Alabama community colleges underpin its clinical, community, and talent pipelines.

The technology stack is operational rather than AI-driven, comprising Sansio's HealthEMS electronic patient care reporting (ePCR) platform, GPS-based AVL/GIS dispatch, mobile data terminals in ambulances, and the Stryker Power-LOAD powered cot system deployed fleet-wide in 2019. Customer concentration is high by design: HEMSI does not operate outside Madison County, and growth is incremental — driven by population growth in the Huntsville metropolitan area, expansion of training and non-emergency transport services, and federal contract relationships rather than geographic or platform expansion.

Name

Huntsville Emergency Medical Services

Legal name

Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc.

Website

https://hemsi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HEMSI is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit emergency medical services provider founded in 1981, serving as the exclusive 911 EMS contractor for Madison County, Alabama, with 265 employees, 36 ambulances, and 65,000+ annual calls across an 800-square-mile area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Medical Services

NAICS

Ambulance Services (621910), Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers (561422)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700), Radiotelephone Communications (4812)

akta.pro primary industry

911/Public EMS Agencies (Municipal/County/Fire-Based) (HLAFANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dispatch, Communications & Medical Control Centers (PSAP/ECC) (HLAFANAK), Emergency Medical Services (EMS) & Ambulance Services (BPAIAGAC), Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Operations & Dispatch (HLAJAGAC)

Keywords

• Emergency medical services
• Ambulance transport
• 911 emergency dispatch
• Patient transport services
• CPR first aid training

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Patient Transport Fees: Primary revenue source (90% of funds) from emergency and non-emergency patient ambulance transport services. Services are billed to patients and/or their insurance providers.
2. Stand-bys, Contracts, and Miscellaneous: Secondary revenue source (10% of funds) from event stand-by services, contracts with facilities like Redstone Arsenal, and miscellaneous sources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HEMSI provides 911 emergency medical response and ambulance transport services to 370,000+ residents across 800+ square miles of Madison County, Alabama. The organization operates 14 EMS stations with a fleet of 36 ambulances, handling 65,000+ calls per year with 265 dedicated employees. Beyond emergency response, HEMSI offers non-emergency patient transport, community CPR and first aid training, and operates an Accredited Center of Excellence 911 Communications Center.

Product overview

HEMSI operates as a single integrated EMS service offering emergency medical transportation as its core product, supported by ancillary services including a 911 Communications Center for dispatch operations, and community education programs for CPR and First Aid training. The organization does not operate a platform-plus-modules software architecture but rather provides unified emergency medical services across Madison County, Alabama.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Medical Transportation Services 911 emergency medical response and ambulance transport for 370,000+ residents across 800+ square miles in Madison County, Alabama. Operates 36 ambulances handling 65,000+ calls annually with 265 dedicated employees.
• Non-Emergency Patient Transport Scheduled ambulance transport services for patients who do not require emergency response, arranged through the 24-hour communications center at 256-722-7158.
• 911 Communications Center Emergency Medical Dispatch services providing pre-arrival instructions including CPR guidance to 911 callers and dispatch of closest available EMS response unit using AVL and GIS systems. Accredited Center of Excellence designation.
• CPR Training Community education program offering hands-only CPR training (30-minute session) and full CPR certification courses (60-90 minutes) to individuals, businesses, and community organizations.
• First Aid Training First aid instruction covering the ABCs of vital survival elements, including airway evaluation, rescue breathing, and basic techniques for cuts and fractures, offered to individuals and organizations.
• Stand-by and Contracted EMS Services Event stand-by services for community events, sporting events, and contracted facilities such as Redstone Arsenal. Provides dedicated EMS units for special events and government installations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65,000+ calls per year served with high-performance standards
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Marshall Space Flight Center / Redstone ArsenalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 July 2019HEMSI provides dedicated EMS services to Marshall Space Flight Center and all of Redstone Arsenal. The NASA Silver Snoopy Award was presented to HEMSI Paramedic Anthony Ceci at a ceremony commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 at MSFC.
• Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative cardiac care partnership for STEMI patients. Hospitals work with HEMSI for early notification of incoming heart attack patients to prepare for treatment. HEMSI recognizes hospital cardiac specialists for their collaborative role in supporting EMS cardiac care efforts.
• American Heart AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEMSI participates in Mission: Lifeline program implementing evidence-based treatment guidelines. Receives annual recognition for quality improvement measures for treatment of severe heart attack patients.
• Calhoun Community CollegeminorOthersLocal college partner for EMT and Paramedic education programs. HEMSI refers aspiring EMTs and Paramedics to this institution for quality education.
• Wallace State Community CollegeminorOthersLocal college partner for EMT and Paramedic education programs. HEMSI refers aspiring EMTs and Paramedics to this institution for quality education.
• Northeast Community College - RainsvilleminorOthersLocal college partner for EMT and Paramedic education programs.
• Northwest-Shoals Community CollegeminorOthersLocal college partner for EMT and Paramedic education programs.
• United Way of Madison CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership for community service projects including annual HEMSI Cares toy delivery program to Downtown Preschool and annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run for breast cancer awareness.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Falck North America: Falck is a Danish-headquartered global ambulance and healthcare services group operating across multiple U.S. states. It is a direct functional peer in 911 and non-emergency transport, but with international parent ownership and a primarily private/commercial customer focus.
• PatientCare EMS Solutions: PatientCare is a privately held, multi-state EMS provider offering 911, interfacility, and critical care transport. Comparable in service mix to HEMSI but with a multi-state regional footprint rather than a single-county public-utility model.

Direct peers

• Mecklenburg EMS Agency (MEDIC): MEDIC is the public, non-profit 911 EMS agency serving Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), North Carolina. It is the most structurally comparable peer to HEMSI: a non-profit public-utility EMS model with comparable scale, 911 dispatch, and hospital partnership focus.
• Acadian Ambulance Service: Acadian is one of the largest privately held EMS providers in the U.S., headquartered in Louisiana and operating across multiple Gulf and Southeastern states. It provides 911 response, non-emergency transport, and standby services comparable to HEMSI's core offering, though as a private (employee-owned) entity rather than a non-profit.
• Richmond Ambulance Authority: The Richmond Ambulance Authority is a public, non-profit 911 EMS provider serving the City of Richmond, Virginia. It shares HEMSI's public-non-profit 911 EMS delivery model, performance-based culture, and reliance on performance metrics for clinical and operational excellence.

Regional players

• East Baton Rouge Parish EMS: East Baton Rouge Parish EMS is a public, parish-level 911 EMS provider in Louisiana. It is a regional structural peer to HEMSI in the non-tax-funded, fee-for-service public EMS model, though it operates under a sheriff's office rather than as a standalone 501(c)(3).
• Grady EMS: Grady EMS is the hospital-based 911 EMS service operated by Grady Health System in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. Comparable in providing 911 response and inter-facility transport at meaningful scale, with similar hospital-system clinical integration to HEMSI's Huntsville Hospital / Crestwood partnerships.
• Austin-Travis County EMS: Austin-Travis County EMS is the public third-service EMS provider for Austin and Travis County, Texas. It is comparable in service model (911 response, non-emergency transport, community paramedicine) but is a government department rather than a non-profit.

Broad incumbents

• Global Medical Response: Global Medical Response is the parent company of AMR and related air and ground EMS brands. It is the dominant private EMS consolidator in the U.S. and a structural reference point for valuing and scaling regional EMS operations, though at a national scale far beyond HEMSI.
• American Medical Response (AMR): AMR is the largest private ambulance and EMS provider in the United States, operating 911 and interfacility transport services across dozens of states. It is a direct functional peer to HEMSI in 911 emergency response and patient transport, but operates nationally and is investor-backed (owned by Global Medical Response) rather than a non-profit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hemsi_hsv

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Huntsville Emergency Medical Services