When the Collierville (TN) Fire Department launches its first ever ambulance transport service in July of 2022, Mark Carter will be at the helm as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Chief.
Carter began his career with Collierville Fire on Monday, December 6, 2021, and said his initial project management task list includes obtaining all the necessary state licenses for the ambulances and for the organization and getting everything ready for ambulance inspection in June so as be ready to begin service July 1, 2022.
His familiarity with the process of building and managing an ambulance service comes from years of experience, and it’s why he was unanimously chosen by the interview panel for this position. Carter is a native of Memphis and earned his Paramedic Certification from Shelby State Community College. He worked as a firefighter/paramedic for the City of Germantown from 1987-1991, and as EMS Chief for Germantown Fire from 1991-2018. Most recently, he worked as Ambulance Sales Manager for G&W/EVS starting in 2019 through his recent hire with Collierville. Carter also worked as an EMT Instructor at Southwest Community College from 2011-2017 and has worked for the Delta Fair organization since 2008 as EMS Operation Manager.
“This is a mission critical service for the Town,” said Administrative Chief Mark King. “It requires a subject matter expert with a unique skill set requiring extensive knowledge and experience. Mr. Carter has experience with setting up multiple ambulance services from the ground up and has extensive knowledge with Collierville’s Fire Records Management System Software. He basically laid out a comprehensive business plan for our transition and understood the urgency of what processes need to be completed for the July implementation.”
Carter’s plan is to place the five ambulances in-service starting in July and continually evaluate how the services are delivered to the citizens. Benchmarking performance measures will be established to ensure that goals are met, and that the citizens of Collierville are receiving the best business practices regarding the standard of care.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen recognized the Town had outgrown its third-party ambulance transport service, which was provided by Rural Metro Ambulance with two ambulances. The Town’s population growth and increased demand for EMS services required additional ambulances to deliver service to the citizens in a timely manner. By providing its own service, the Town will have greater flexibility and provide quality assurance to citizens by assuring the continuation of their own paramedic services from point of contact to deliver at the emergency room. The cost of the new service is $4.2 million, which includes five new ambulances incorporating the newest technology, ideas, and features, along with state-of-the-art medical equipment, and twenty-two new personnel, which will staff three ambulances each day.