Darke County, OH News

How We Got Here...

By Josh Spradling, Co-Founder of Spirit Medical Transport LLC with Aaron Guthrie and Brian K. Hathaway

Spirit Medical Transport, LLC is a private ambulance / ambulette (wheelchair van) service that is owned and operated by Brian K. Hathaway, Aaron Guthrie and me, Josh Spradling. Together, we have more than 47 years experience in the emergency medical field and over 30 years of experience in handling routine medical transportation requests. The three of us originally met at the Union City Fire Department.

Our Ohio-based company was formed in October of 2006 after we found a growing need for service. We were originally located at 5415 Ohio Route 49 South, Greenville and employed 7 part time people. Spirit became officially licensed with the Ohio Medical Transportation Board on February 16, 2007. In December 2007, we became a licensed provider with the Indiana EMS Commission and obtained wheelchair van certification through the Motor Carrier Division of the Indiana Department of Revenue.

Today, the headquarters of Spirit Medical Transport, LLC is located at 5484 Ohio Route 49 South, Greenville, Ohio in the old Hamilton Motors Building. We employ 91 enthusiastic professionals that provide services to Western Ohio and Eastern Indiana around the clock. Eighty of the 91 are full time. Most employees are primarily active with a fire or rescue department or retired from the public service sector.

We have a 24-hour dispatch center with paramedic crews ready to deploy and transport patients. We have crews on station around the clock. When the crews are not on an official run they have sleeping quarters provided to them and they are available to respond to calls as needed.
GPS tracking and expanded radio communications let us know the precise location of our fleet of 27 vehicles--eleven ambulances, eight wheelchair vans, four ambulatory vehicles and four utility vehicles that meet the individual needs of each patient. Most requests we receive are for transfer and transport from hospitals, nursing homes, and private residences that are ambulatory, non-ambulatory, or temporarily non-ambulatory. We specialize in transporting patients who meet medical necessity requirements for hospital procedures, doctor’s office visits, and various other forms of medical appointments such as radiation and dialysis treatments. Most insurance companies pay for this form of transportation providing there is a medical need for the services being rendered. “There is no travel distance too far, we go anywhere.”

As Spirit has increased ambulance staffing, we have witnessed a steady increase in transport coming from the private sector individuals that need transportation to the hospital from their residences. In May of 2011 we realized a need for services in the northern area and opened our first satellite station at 2901 Fair Road, Sidney, Ohio.

Spirit accepts all forms of insurance including Medicare, Medicaid, and all commercial insurance. For homebound patients, we work through a patient’s healthcare provider to determine whether the patient qualifies for the services offered or may only benefit from the services through out-of-pocket expense. We seek out insurance pre-approvals when necessary. We are also a licensed provider for the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.

Since we opened in 2007, there has been a rapid increase in the number of runs that we make, as well as the number of employees. In 2007, we made 4,225 runs; 15,600 runs in 2008; 28,200 in 2009 and
35,600 in 2010. In 2011, the service is on pace to do nearly 45,000 runs.

In the coming weeks, Spirit Medical Transport staff will open the newly remodeled training room to provide various forms of education to EMS personnel, nurses, as well as the general public.

We thank the citizens and businesses in Darke and surrounding counties for the opportunity to provide quality service and care. Your referrals have helped us grow our business and in turn, give back to the communities we serve.