Priority Ambulance announced on Wednesday that Angel EMS is joining the company’s national family of companies. Angel EMS based in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., is the 911 ambulance provider in Catoosa County, and provides non-emergency service to Walker, Dade and Whitfield counties.
“I am proud of the excellent ambulance service that our exceptional employees have helped us build,” said W. DeWayne Wilson, president and CEO of Angel EMS. “We are excited and humbled for the opportunity to join a national family of companies with a hometown focus on the families, citizens, visitors and facilities we serve locally in our community.
Priority Ambulance will provide financial backing, operational support and expertise to ensure we continue to serve our patients and customers with excellence and will offer our employees new opportunities as part of a national family.”
Angel EMS provides emergency and nonemergency medical service to four counties in Northwest Georgia and Southeast Tennessee with 14 ambulances and more than 60 full- and part-time employees.
“Angel EMS is a great fit for the Priority Ambulance family of companies because they share a commitment to patients and employees,” said Priority Ambulance CEO Bryan Gibson. “With the addition of Angel EMS, Priority Ambulance further shores up its significant presence in Southeast Tennessee and throughout the region. We appreciate DeWayne and his team for their investment in this community, and we look forward to welcoming them to our family.”
Angel EMS will continue to operate under the same name, and President and CEO DeWayne Wilson will continue to lead the ambulance service’s operations.
Priority Ambulance operates under six brands in the Southeast, including Puckett EMS and Central EMS in Georgia. Angel EMS joins the Priority Ambulance’s Southeast family of companies, which serves 265,000 patients annually and 20 communities with 9-1-1 service in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and South Carolina.
A Northwest Georgia native, DeWayne Wilson began working on an ambulance when he was 15 years old as a driver at his parents’ business, Wilson Funeral Home in Lafayette, which they have owned since 1976. Wilson has been a licensed paramedic since 1989. In 1994, Wilson was ambulance service director at that company while also working for Metro Ambulance Service in Atlanta. He transferred to Catoosa County where he purchased the ambulance operation named Gold Cross EMS in 1997. A year later, he changed the name to Angel EMS.
Angel EMS has provided 911 response to the city of Fort Oglethorpe since 2000 and received the contract to provide 911 response to Catoosa County in 2009. Angel EMS also provides backup 911 service to Walker and Whitfield counties.
Mr. Wilson has been the Walker County coroner since 2000 and was previously the deputy coroner for Catoosa County from 1988 to 1990.
“Angel EMS has been deeply involved in the community for 20 years,” said Mr. Wilson. “Priority Ambulance believes in decisions being made at a local level and investing in local talent and relationships. The people of Catoosa County have trusted us to protect their health and safety for many years. I am proud to personally be able to continue to provide that personal service with the added support of the Priority family of companies.”
Angel EMS is an active member of the Catoosa County and Walker County Chambers of Commerce and the Catoosa County 911 Board. Angel EMS is active in the Southeast EMS Director’s Association (SEEMSDA) and in the Region One EMS Council being named EMS Service of the Year in 2012 after excellent management of the response to provide relief after the tornado in Ringgold, Georgia, in 2011.
Angel EMS has emerged as a regional leader in disaster response. Angel EMS has three disaster response buses with capabilities to transport up to 10 patients, as well as a 40-foot mobile command center bus equipped with radios, televisions and satellites. The Angel EMS team has also taken a leadership role in emergency preparedness, including serving on the Catoosa County Local Emergency Planning Committee and the Region One Disaster Assistance Regional Response Team (DART). Additionally, Angel EMS has provided support through the Georgia Emergency Medical Management Agency (GEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to hurricanes every national hurricane response since Hurricane Katrina and have provided response to four tornados in Georgia.
Using its RV response units and ambulances for special event standbys, Angel EMS has served numerous movie sets in Georgia. Movies supported include the Marvel movie franchise, “The Walking Dead” and several Tyler Perry films.
Angel EMS has signed a letter of intent with Priority Ambulance. The transaction is expected to be completed in the next 60 days.