LOS ANGELES' PREMIER
NON-EMERGENCY MEDICAL
TRANSPORTATION PROVIDER
BROKER
-
Safe
-
Reliable
-
Trusted
-
Fast Response
-
Gurney/Wheelchair Mix
-
HOSPITAL DISCHARGE CAPABILITIES
-
DIALYSIS STANDING ORDERS
-
FAQs
SAFETY FIRST APPROACH
- EMT ATTENDANTS
- EXTENSIVELY TRAINED - CPR, FIRST AID, PASS
- SAFE DRIVERS, CONTINUOUSLY MONITORED
- LADOT PERMITTED
- 100% COVID VACCINATED TEAM
- CA DOJ BACKGROUND CHECKED
- DRUG TESTED
SUPERIOR EQUIPMENT = RELIABLE & SAFE
- WELL MAINTAINED FLEET
- SUPERIOR EQUIPMENT
- 2021 Stryker Gurneys - Electric, Bariatric
- 2021 Stair Chairs – Electric, Bariatric
- 2021 Stryker Power Loaders – Bariatric Focus
- Stryker 5-point harness systems
- MEDIROUTES Dispatch Platform
- Full email encryption to protect patient information
- 98%+ on-time performance
TRUSTED ACROSS LOS ANGELES
SATISFY REQUESTS AND ARRIVE ON-TIME
100%
Inbound calls answered within 10 seconds -a)
1,000+
Gurney transports performed by Ambiance each month
19
Hospitals that use Ambiance regularly for discharges
98%
Ambiance on-time rate -b)
20
Ambiance gurney vans/teams
0
Discharges Ambiance delayed over 2 hours
5
Number of Geographic zones Ambiance uses to reduce response times
GURNEY/WHEELCHAIR MIX
Ambiance has elected to focus on gurney transports as these types of transports are materially more difficult to perform at high standards than ambulatory and wheelchair transports. While we know most brokers are seeking companies that are predominantly ambulatory/wheelchair with some gurney, we believe focusing on being LA County’s best and most compliant gurney provider is best for our patients’ safety and service.
For gurney transports we guarantee 100% of our transports meet LA City requirements as all our vehicles, drivers and attendants are LA City permitted. Ambiance:
- Has 20 LA City vehicle permits;
- # permitted drivers;
- # permitted attendants (all EMTs)
- # employees who are permitted to be either a driver or an attendant, increasing our flexibility.
HOSPITAL DISCHARGE CAPABILITIES
One of the most difficult elements of Non-emergency transportation is handling hospital discharges. Unlike appointments (e.g. dialysis and doctor appointments) which are known well in advance, hospital discharges are almost always day of requested within hours of need and daily demand is difficult to predict. Ambiance has decided to focus on these types of transports and has set up our operations to excel in this area:
- Focus – on select hospitals to obtain density of discharges and, under the law of large numbers, increase predictability;
- Become familiar – with every hospital by establishing written procedures and guidelines;
- Deploy – teams and vehicles strategically into proximity zones positioned to service these hospitals;
The complexity and security associated with hospitals requires additional in/out time as compared to appointments and the inability to schedule in advance generates additional “idle time”. As such, Ambiance charges a premium for hospital discharges. This premium is often more than worth it when brokers receive praise for Ambiance's reliable, responsive, & quality transportation.
DIALYSIS STANDING ORDERS
Many dialysis patients in need of gurney transportation can be transported by NEMT gurney providers, especially operators employing well qualified personnel and quality equipment. If established thoughtfully and executed professionally, transportation can be a critical element of the dialysis continuum of care.
We work with and across our clients to build routes that minimize travel distances to (i) mitigate LA traffic impacts to improve on-time performance, (ii) reduce wear and tear on our fleet, (iii) allow Ambiance to support the pre-6AM chair times that are difficult to fill and (iv) reduce the potential for accidents.
We believe consistent and on-time dialysis appointments reduce acute care admittances and we focus intensely on this. We also use our technology to confirm appointments the day before and to notify patients when our teams are 15 minutes out so that we all are aligned on getting the patient into their chair on time and unstressed.
If you have dialysis gurney patients in need of reliable and safe transportation, particularly populations where we can structure routes, please inquire by calling us.
FAQs
HOURS OF OPERATION
- M-F from 6AM to 9PM
- Sa from 9AM to 8PM
- Su from 9AM to 6PM
- We do advanced scheduled trips (e.g. dialysis appointments) starting at 2:30AM for 3:00AM appointments.
- Our first same day pick up is 9AM and our last same day pick up is 9PM.
- Yes. If there is a consistent need for morning discharges, we can assign a vehicle to your hospital.
CONTACTING AMBIANCE
- Ambiance’s general number is (818) 955-5757 or (855) 880-0001.
- If you contract with Ambiance, you will be given a special “direct to dispatch” partner hotline number. For obvious reasons, we do not post this number on our website.
- We know your time is valuable and you do not want your team to sit on hold. To deal with this, your team will be given a “direct to dispatch/preferred partner” hotline phone number that is monitored whenever our dispatch team is active. There is no traditional call queue as this line rings on every dispatcher’s desk, regardless if they are on the phone or not. Our initial message is 12 seconds long. We answer the phones in 8 seconds (on average). No call ever goes to hold. We have a track record of answering every call, so no waits.
- We prefer 24 hours or more notice and will confirm all appointments the day prior to the appointment, just like a restaurant reservation. If you call the same day, we will do our best to accommodate your request.
AMBIANCE’S EQUIPMENT
- Ambiance has 20 vehicles. 14 have the ability to do both wheelchair and gurney, 2 are wheelchair only, and 4 are gurney only.
- We have 20 LA DOT vehicle permits.
- Ambiance also has a Lincoln Continental we use for VIP ambulatory escorts outside of LA City.
- Our vehicles are Ford Transit 350 and Mercedes Sprinter vans. Wheelchairs are loaded from the side and gurneys are loaded from the rear.
- We are also expanding our fleet to include wheelchair only vans.
- Each of our vehicles is part of our mileage-based preventative maintenance program where we proactively address potential issues prior using our 50-point checklist. For example, we replace coolant and coolant hoses on a scheduled basis to avoid keep our engines from overheating. This work is performed by our local authorized mechanics.
- Each of our stretchers, wheelchair ramps, and stair chairs are inspected on a regular basis.
- Yes. We have 4 vehicles equipped with Stryker Power Loads, a state of the art piece of equipment that handles loading patients into and unloading patients out of the vehicle. This equipment can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvpQGBt8a6I
- We use only Stryker electric, bariatric capable gurneys (with bariatric wings).
- Every vehicle is equipped with an electric, bariatric capable stair chair in the event stairs or narrow hallways are encountered. This equipment can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E0Lo0nu9vQ
- At Ambiance the safety of our patients and employees is our top priority and we continue to look for ways to improve. We have moved to equipping every gurney van with a transfer board for a safer and more comfortable transfer for patients and employees and every one of our employees is trained on the use of transfer boards.
- Each of our teams is equipped with GPS tracking and use the MediRoutes dispatch system to stay on top of trips and traffic. In addition, they are in regular contact with our dispatch operation.
AMBIANCE’S TEAM
- Ambiance’s management interviews all potential new hires and performs reference checks.
- Every new hire is subjected to a drug test, a thorough background check by the California Department of Justice, and a physical (EMTs only).
- Every 2 years employees must go through this process again.
- 100% of our attendants are EMTs.
- All of our employees must take and pass Community Transportation Association of America’s (CTAA) Passenger Assistance Safety and Sensitivity (PASS) Basic and Wheelchair and the Red Cross’ First Aid and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) courses and tests. We also train our new hires through a variety of internal courses (e.g. stretcher and transfer board training) and hands on training through ride alongs.
- Our drivers are also part of our on-going driver safety program where they are scored on safe driving practices and receive real time coaching on any potentially unsafe practices.
- We do not as this is more appropriate for ambulance transportation.
- All of our employees are LA DOT permitted.
- Yes. We train all our drivers as well as certify them upon hiring. We also use Lytx cameras in all our vehicles. This allows us to leverage Lytx’s artificial intelligence monitoring to provide real-time feedback and scoring for all our drivers.
- Our dispatchers are all well versed in our dispatch platform, MediRoutes. In addition, they are familiar with Los Angeles’ traffic patterns and are able to take these into account when scheduling transports.
- On long-distance transports, we will send a qualified driver + an EMT certified attendant who can also drive. If the trip is over 240 miles, Ambiance will send 2 certified EMTs who are also both trained drivers so that they can swap off, if necessary, without sacrificing patient monitoring.
AMBIANCE’S SERVICE AREA
- Yes. All 20 of our wheelchair & gurney vehicles, all our drivers and all of our attendants hold LA DOT permits.
- With sufficient notice, we will transport patients up to 500 miles. We have transported patients north to the Bay area, south to San Diego, and west to Arizona, Colorado, and Las Vegas.
- Yes. We service all airports in Los Angeles County: LAX, Santa Ana, Hollywood-Burbank, & Ontario. We can also service airports in the surrounding area as well.
BILLING & PAYMENT
- Yes.
- Yes, we accept both checks and credit cards.
TRANSPORT DETAILS
- Non-Emergency Medical Transportation
- We do not.
- Yes. We partner with several companies to supplement our ability to provide wheelchair transports.
- All our partner companies must meet Ambiance’s rigorous hiring, training, driver monitoring, and equipment quality standards and must also utilize Ambiance’s dispatch platform to ensure our ability to provide transportation at the service and safety levels our patients and clients expect from Ambiance.
- We consider all patients less than 250 pounds to be regular gurney transports.
- We consider patients between 250 and 350 pounds to be bariatric patients and have a supplemental pickup charge for these patients.
- Patients larger than 350 pounds are bariatric plus and the additional charge is based upon the circumstances of the transport.
- Yes. We can accommodate both. In the case of bariatric plus, we have multiple vehicles equipped with Stryker Power Loads for safely loading and unloading larger patients or we will send a second crew to perform the transport.
- We pick up all our patients from their rooms and deliver them inside the building we are taking them to.
- Properly handling situations with stairs and narrow hallways is critical for the safety of both our employees and our patients.
- If more than 2 stairs are involved, we will not transport a patient using a wheelchair due to the risk associated with pulling a patient in a wheelchair up a set of stairs.
- If more than 2 stairs are involved with a gurney patient, we need to know so that we can ensure the patient can be transported up the stairs in one of our electric stair chairs. It would be extremely dangerous to transport a patient up a set of stairs in one of our gurneys and we do not use backboards. In the case where stairs are involved and the patient cannot sit in a stair chair, a backboard will need to be used and this will require a BLS transport.
- If a narrow hallway with tight turns is involved for a gurney patient, we will again need to know if there is carpeting that will prevent the use of an electric stair chair.
- Yes, up to 6 liters.
- No.
- No. We can transport patients with capped IVs, but not active IVs.
- Yes. We can transport patients who have been cleared for release from health facilities by a doctor.
- Yes, if they need gurney transportation. If they need wheelchair transportation, we assess each case.
- Yes. If a mental health patient has been cleared for release to a lower level of care facility or to an appointment, we will transport the patient. In addition, our system and process will perform what we refer to as a “warm hand-off”. We will capture the name and signature of the individual accepting the patient to protect the hospital of SNF from any allegations of failed delivery.
- NEMT Gurney can transport every non-emergency gurney patient except those requiring BLS monitoring or have active IVs, open wounds, or are intubated.
- NEMT Gurney is not paid for by Medicare.
- BLS Non-Emergency is not reimbursed by Medicare when an appropriate alternative is available, so Medicare would not reimburse the provider for BLS Non-Emergency in these instances.
- Bottom line, there is no difference between NEMT Gurney and BLS Non-Emergency in 90% of the hospital discharge cases
- Both NEMT gurney and BLS Non-emergency take COVID patients
- If you cancel the appointment at least 1 hour prior to pick up, there is no charge.
- If we arrive and the patient elects not to go you will be charged the pick up fee (no mileage) for the transport.
- Yes. This is called a “wait and return” and we do these types of trips frequently. In fact, many times they are required if the patient is a gurney transport as doctors’ offices do not always have spare beds for the patient to wait in.
- Yes. We provide hospital shuttles (ambulatory & wheelchair), wheelchair vans, and gurney vans complete with trained teams on a per diem basis to provider locations.
INSURANCE
- Yes, $1 million of coverage.
- Yes.
- Yes.