Editing Emergency medical services (section)

===Private/corporate ambulance service===
[[File:American Medical Response6.jpg|thumb|[[American Medical Response]] ambulances staging in [[Tallahassee, Florida]] during [[Hurricane Irma]]]]
Some ambulances are operated by commercial companies with paid employees, usually on a contract to the local or national government, Hospital Networks, Health Care Facilities and Insurance Companies.

In the U.S., private ambulance companies provide emergency medical services in large cities and rural areas by contracting with local governments. In areas where the local county or city provide their own emergency services, private companies provide discharges and transfers from hospitals and to/from other health related facilities and homes. In most areas private companies are part of the local government emergency disaster plan, and are relied upon for the overall EMS response, treatment and recovery.

In some areas, private companies may provide only the patient transport elements of ambulance care (i.e. non-urgent), but in some places, they are contracted to provide emergency care, or to form a 'second tier' response, where they only respond to emergencies when all of the full-time emergency ambulance crews are busy. This may mean that a government or other service provide the 'emergency' cover, whilst a private firm may be charged with 'minor injuries' such as cuts, bruises or even helping the mobility-impaired if they have for example fallen and simply need help to get up again, but do not need treatment. This system has the benefit of keeping emergency crews available at all times for genuine emergencies. These organisations may also provide services known as 'Stand-by' cover at industrial sites or at special events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstaidservices.net.au|title=First Aid Services|access-date=2009-03-31|publisher=First Aid Services|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022023607/http://firstaidservices.net.au/|archive-date=22 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Latin America, private ambulance companies are often the only readily-available EMS service.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}