TOLEDO, Ohio — First Med, the parent company of LIFE Ambulance and MedCorp — which together are the largest providers of EMS service in the state of Ohio — abruptly closed its doors on Friday, putting hundreds of employees out of work without notice.
News outlets reported the closure, but had little information. The Fayette Advocate said LIFE employees told the newspaper the company “was out of money.”
An operator that answered MedCorp’s administration line Saturday morning confirmed to Toledoblade.com that the company was “no longer in business,” but hours later another operator declined to comment, saying “at this point, I am not allowed to give … any information.”
The website was down Saturday, with a message that said, “This site is down for maintenance. Please check back again soon.”
Medcorp offers ambulance services across Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina, among other states. The company employees about 275 people and has been around since 1986, according to the Better Business Bureau.
In June 2011, MedCorp filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection, and shortly after it was acquired by First Med EMS, based in Wilmington, N.C.
First Med also purchased LIFE Ambulance in July 2011, according to the Fayette Advocate. Life operated nearly 250 vehicles out of more than 20 bases in Ohio and West Virginia. Along with MedCorp, they were the largest EMS provider in the state of Ohio.
First Med operates from 65 offices in six states, with more than 650 vehicles that provide more than 500,000 transports a year.