By Dawn Burleigh

dawn.burleigh@orangeleader.com

Fire department and other first-responder representatives were honored along with Acadian’s original Orange County team members.  Speakers included Acadian President Jerry Romero and Regional Vice President Michael Burney.

After 35 years of success in Louisiana, Acadian entered Texas in 2006 as the 911 provider in Orange County.  Today, the nationally accredited and employee-owned Acadian serves 37 counties and the Southeast Texas, Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio metro areas with more than 1,000 employees and more than 250 ambulances.

Director of Operations Brandon Hebert has been with Acadian for 17 years and worked in management since 2008.

“We were primarily in Louisiana until 2006,” Hebert said. “The success we have shown in Orange with the accomplishments of serving the community allowed us to prove ourselves.”

Acadian Ambulance Services averages 30 calls a day in Orange County with two-thirds classified as emergency calls.

“It varies each day,” Hebert said. “On the weekends, the calls are generally all emergencies while on weekdays we also have transport calls.”

The company employees 40 medics in the county.

“There are two levels of medics,” Hebert explained. “There are paramedics and EMTs.”

A paramedic a person who is trained to do medical work, especially emergency first aid, but is not usually a fully qualified physician.

The medical definition of EMT is a specially trained medical technician certified to provide basic emergency services (as cardiopulmonary resuscitation) before and during transportation to a hospital—called also emergency medical technician.

Hebert said the company is currently expanding to provide 911 service to the Houston and Pasadena area as well as acquiring a company in the Baytown area.