AAA Ambulance Service Awarded $2.7M Congressional Grant for Fleet Upgrades

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – (November 7, 2024) AAA Ambulance Service, which was awarded a $2.7 million Community Project Funding/Congressional Directed Spending (CDS) grant for fleet upgrades, is seeing that funding come to fruition.

Chuck Carter, AAA CEO, said the grant, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), is funding 27 Lucas devices, which have been deployed across the AAA coverage area, as well as 11 new ambulances each with a Power-LOAD stretcher system. CDS allows members of Congress to request federal funds be set aside for specific projects in their states.

“My goal as a Senator is to work to responsibly use the federal appropriations process to help Mississippi communities and organizations access resources that will help them best serve their residents,” said Sen. Hyde-Smith. “The funding for these new ambulances and equipment reflect that process, which will mean better emergency care for people in Hattiesburg and the Pine Belt.”

These ambulances will be replacing older vehicles in our current fleet. “Paired with the new ambulances, the LUCAS device and Power-LOAD system will help improve operational efficiency and safety,” said Carter.

Currently, 7 of the ambulances have arrived, and four more are in the final stages of completion at the vendor where lettering is being added and the Power-LOAD systems are being installed.

The Lucas device is an automated Chest Compression System that is referred to as “your partner in life support.” The device, which is positioned both under and over a patient who is in cardiac arrest, performs chest compressions in place of an actual person delivering guideline-consistent chest compressions to sudden cardiac arrest patients – in the field, on the move, and in the hospital.

The Lucas device is for use as a supplement to manual CPR when effective manual CPR is not possible – during transport, extended CPR, fatigue, or when there is limited personnel. Every online AAA Ambulance is equipped with the device.

The Power-LOAD stretcher system removes the problem of paramedics and EMTs having to lift patients multiple times when they go on a call, according to Carter. “The only lifting they will have to do is when they move the patient to or from the stretcher,” he said. “This protects both the patient and our personnel.”

“We appreciate Sen. Hyde-Smith’s commitment to the people of South Mississippi in helping provide funding for this new equipment through a CDS grant,” said Carter. “This will help ensure that the patients we serve throughout our coverage area are receiving the best possible care.”

AAA Ambulance has been Mississippi’s first and longest-standing Emergency Medical Services provider. Since 1965, AAA has continuously provided reliable response, care, and transport for south Mississippi residents. AAA was the first to be licensed, provide air response, train and test paramedics, and to offer SMART 911.

AAA Ambulance Service has a staff of more than 300 people and covers Forrest, Perry, Pearl River, Marion, Jefferson Davis, Walthall, and Pike counties, in addition to the Hattiesburg City Limits within Lamar County. The communications center dispatches an average of 180 ground ambulance calls on a daily basis, as well as calls for three helicopters through SEMAAD (Southeast Mississippi Air Ambulance District); these helicopters are based in Hattiesburg (Rescue 7), Gulfport (Rescue 5), and McComb (Rescue 9).

For more information about AAA Ambulance Service, visit aaaambulance.net.