By Suzie Byrd
Enid News & Eagle
ENID, Okla. — Mercy Regional EMS continues to gather data on ambulance service in Enid as it works to find out how to provide the best service.
Duke Dixon, owner of Enid’s new ambulance service, introduced himself to Enid Rotary Club members Monday, March 2, 2026.
“We officially started business here on Dec. 29,” Dixon said. “We are glad to get started in the community.”
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Dixon owns Centurion Health Systems, of Owasso, which does business as Mercy Regional of Oklahoma. He and his wife Lindsey, both in the health industry, started their ambulance service in 2006.
He acquired Life EMS from Jimmy Johnson, who had provided ambulance service in Enid for more than 50 years.
“During the first 90 to 120 days we are getting data on the ambulance service in Enid and what we need to do to provide the best service,” Dixon said. “Enid has operated with two ambulances, and now we know that simply is not enough.”
Dixon said in one 24-hour day Mercy transported 30 people with two ambulances after getting 49 calls.
“We have always offered a paramedic-type service on our ambulances, but now we can’t always do it for many different reasons,” he said. “We are having to change that model.”
Dixon said Enid was a high call area and after getting more data they will go to the city commission for more discussion.
“We are down in staffing for paramedics because they can go to work in other areas that do not require ambulance hours and lower pay,” Dixon said. “I think the public needs to know more about what we actually do and the quality of care we provide.”
Dixon said service have more technology now and carry up to 42 different drugs in the ambulance.
“These folks provide a high level of procedures and decisions in the back of an ambulance, all day, every day,” he said.
Unfortunately, he said, emergency medical services are not seen as essential in most states. He said he thought this attitude was rather crazy, especially if people could see the faces of those they help.
Looking at service
He said Mercy has been looking at the time of calls and what they can do to activate ambulances more quickly. Dixon previously told city commissioners he would have six ambulances in Enid, although he did not know how many would be staffed at any one time.
Enid municipal code requires at least two ambulances be staffed for emergency calls 24 hours a day at least 95% of the time. The code also requires ambulances on emergency calls be staffed by a driver and an EMT/paramedic. Ambulances on non-emergency calls require a driver and an attendant.
“One of the things we need to do is educate the community on our services and when to call an ambulance,” Dixon told Rotarians. “We shouldn’t be called about a sore toe or you don’t feel well. In the future we will have a supervisor who goes and visits with frequent abusers of the ambulance service and encourage them to find more reasonable ways to address their needs.
“We also want to educate people on how they can be better prepared.”
He said lives were saved when people started CPR or other life-saving measures before the ambulance, fire department or police get there.
Funding issues
“Our ability to make money or be reimbursed for our services is not a good model,” Dixon said. “A run that we charge $1,800 to make is usually reimbursed at about $900. This is not going to continue to work, so we are going to have to find ways to change this.”
Dixon said he thought Enid would benefit by looking at a tier system that every call is not responded to with a paramedic, and with some calls not having an ambulance dispatched.
Dixon said currently they are required to stick on a call, and they should be able to divert when there is another high-emergency call. He said in January Mercy had 590 calls and responded to 459.
He said what people need to celebrate is that four of those people were getting CPR as instructed.
“When the ambulance or fire department got there, life-saving measures were continued,” he said. “They were taken to the hospital. Today, those four people are alive in our community and even back to work. This is what we celebrate.”
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