Rockford Ambulance would like to invite the public to share their celebration of fifty years in service to this area. January 1, 1968, a group of 16 men and one woman began what is now known as Rockford Ambulance Service, then North Kent Ambulance Service. Each person had received 16 hours of First Aid Training from Michigan State Police. The one woman, Nola Hall, worked out of her home as the dispatcher. “Hers is the toughest job of all … she is responsible for her duties at all times, day and night, seven days a week.” The ambulance service was an all volunteer service.
Time Line
1968: North Kent Ambulance is established
1970: Rockford Ambulance is licensed to provide Basic Life Support• 1974: Rockford Ambulance is licensed to provide Advanced Life Support
1984: CEO Roger Morgan hired in as one of two full time employees, the other was a bookkeeper
1985: Care Plan Membership established
1987: Changes from volunteer service to a full time paid staff
1987: Courtland station opened
1988: Rockford Ambulance provides ALS service to Lowell area
1994: Rockford Ambulance receives full accreditation from CAAS, the first organization in the nation with less than 5,000 transports to become nationally accredited
1996: Rockford Ambulance receives national recognition for community service programs 1997: Belmont station opens
1999: Rockford Ambulance re-accredited by CAAS
2000: Rockford Ambulance service merges with Northwest Ambulance
2001: Rockford Ambulance provides service to the residents of Grand Rapids Township
2001: Rockford Ambulance re-accredited by CAAS
2002: Rockford Ambulance construct new ambulance business office, ambulance facility and community center, all in one building
2003: Rockford Ambulance begins operating full time dispatch center from administrative offices
2003: Rockford Ambulance builds new station in Sparta
2004: Rockford Ambulance purchases new dispatch and billing system
2005: Rockford Ambulance re-accedited by CAAS
2006: Rockford Ambulance implements 12-lead ECG monitoring on all front line units. Began transmitting to local hospitals to improve heart attack intervention times within the system
2006: Rockford Ambulance secures funding within Lowell community for an addition to the fire station for ambulance quarters
2006: Rockford Ambulance receives seven laptop computers from Region 6 grant funds for patient care reporting and patient tracking
2007: New patient care reporting system to facilitate better documentation, quality improvements and improved patient tracking
2008: Rockford Ambulance re-accredited by CAAS
2010: Built Grattan Township station
2011: Rockford Ambulance re-accredited by CAAS
2015: Rockford Ambulance re-accredited by CAAS Changed over to all Zoll Monitors for the fleet, to increase continuity of care and billing GPS tracking and response time map
2017: Change from 24 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts
2017: Hiring of a new Chief Operations officer
2018: Installed Stryker Power Load cots on all front line trucks
Currently, Rockford Ambulance, a private non-profit company, has ten ambulances, two supervisor units, five wheelchair vans, and one education vehicle for the fleet. Sixty-seven employees call Rockford Ambulance home. We have an in-house mechanic keeping our fleet in tip-top shape. We boast a coverage area of 21 townships in two counties. Rockford Ambulance now has over 20,000 calls for service a year, a marked increase from the 811 calls in 1984—the same year Roger Morgan, CEO, came to Rockford Ambulance, with his guidance and that of our community board members, has lead us and will continue to provide leadership into the future.
Rockford Ambulance invites the public to share their anniversary celebration with them with an Ice Cream Social, hotdogs, games, bounce house, slide, games and more on Saturday, September 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Courtland Substation, 11555 Berrigan Avenue, Rockford.
