HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital starts new patient transportation service (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Daily Record) — HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital announced June 17 that it launched its interfacility transport service.
The hospital spent nearly $1 million to buy and outfit three ambulances for the service, according to a news release.
In the past, the hospital partnered with medical transport vendors when providing patient transportation to an outside medical facility.
The hospital will continue to work with private ambulance companies. The program allows for more timely and efficient patient transportation.
“At HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, we continue to look for ways to further improve our care delivery to the local community,” Jeff Taylor, CEO at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, said in the release.
“The new interfacility transport service will extend the reach of emergency services at our facilities and help our care teams provide timely, high-quality care to community members in their time of need.”
HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital hired 18 full-time employees to staff the program. They include Advanced Life Support-certified EMTs and paramedics.
In 2023, HCA Florida Orange Park’s emergency department handled more than 120,000 cases. The hospital expects the service to augment city and county first responders as well as private ambulance firms.
The hospital held a “blessing of the fleet” ceremony June 17 to commemorate the start of the service.
Photo courtesy of HCA Florida