Acadian Ambulance’s Texas operations have been heavily involved in the initial preparation and response to Hurricane Harvey since Thursday, August 24. As the hurricane approached the Texas coast and intensified, Acadian activated extra ambulance crews from our Dallas, Austin, Beaumont, Houston and San Antonio service areas, as well as deploying additional units from our Louisiana service area. The crews and ambulances are staged in various strategic locations to provide assistance where most needed.
On the morning of Friday, August 25, Acadian Ambulance activated our Evacuation Response Operations Center (EROC) at its fortified headquarters building in Lafayette, Louisiana. EROC is staffed by a dedicated team of response professionals who coordinate evacuation requests from hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. EROC operates separately from Acadian Ambulance dispatch centers and allows Acadian to maintain their normal ambulance operations while also handling disaster response and evacuations.
On Friday morning, we also began moving fuel, food, supplies and medications to our Texas stations in preparation for prolonged ongoing operations. Through Sunday night, August 26, Acadian had evacuated 147 patients from affected hospitals and facilities to safe areas. Acadian has also activated 21 ambulances and crews as part of the State of Texas Strike Teams.
In addition to the evacuations already completed by Acadian, we continue to receive requests and are coordinating them as weather conditions allow.
As the storm moves back toward the Gulf of Mexico and approaches the Texas/Louisiana border, we are closely monitoring the situation and staging ambulances, crews and supplies in preparation to handle any evacuation requests that may arise in those areas.
“I am so proud of and grateful for our crews. Many of them have suffered flooding and wind damage at their homes, but they are still showing up for work, ready to help our fellow citizens in need,” said Acadian Ambulance CEO & Chairman Richard Zuschlag.
Acadian Ambulance is the nation’s largest employee-owned ambulance service, serving 34 parishes in Louisiana, 37 counties in Texas and one county in Mississippi.
