By Kevin Hassler
Enid News & Eagle
ENID, Okla. — For the first time in more than 50 years, Enid has a new ambulance service, with Mercy Regional of Oklahoma having finalized its acquisition of Life EMS and starting to provide service Monday, Dec. 29, 2025.
“I think first and foremost, we’re honored to carry on 54 years of what Jimmy (Johnson) and Life have done for this community,” Duke Dixon, CEO of Mercy Regional, said. “I don’t think people understand how difficult it can be, or how much, how hard it was for Jimmy these last six or seven years.”
Changes won’t be noticeable right away, Dixon said.
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“Our ultimate goal is to continue what Life has been doing, but we’ll be able to bring in our technologies, bring in more people, more ambulances,” he said. “I just keep reminding people that you won’t really feel a difference today. You really won’t feel a difference the first few weeks, but within the end of the first 90 days, once we’re established here and kind of made some changes with increasing staffing, adding ambulances, of higher level of care services they’re currently used to on a daily basis, people will start to see that.”
Enid city commissioners voted Dec. 2 to approve the application by the Owasso company to operate an ambulance service here.
The city’s review evaluated Mercy Regional’s operational readiness, clinical quality, financial stability, equipment maintenance and regulatory compliance. City staff concluded the investigation without identifying any concerns.
As part of the transition, Mercy Regional retained experienced local personnel and aligned protocols with the Enid Fire Department and city leadership to support the change. All employees who joined Mercy Regional retained their tenure and seniority, and the organization will continue to be responsible for emergency response and patient transport within the city.
Future challenges
The future of ambulance service in Enid has been a topic of discussion for the city commission for some time.
Some of the concerns raised were finances, response times and the number of ambulances available, and the number of trained personnel.
“I have a little different stance on response times, and that’s slowly shifting throughout the nation that we don’t focus so much on a number, on how fast we can get somewhere,” Dixon said, “that what we care about is that we have an ambulance available to respond when the call comes in, we’ll get there in an adequate amount of time.”
He said changes Mercy Regional will implement will take care of response times.
“I do think we will see the availability will be more, and I think a lot of the processes that we put in place will be different in how fast we get out the door,” Dixon said. “We pride ourselves on that initial response time, from basically time of call to how fast that ambulance is moving with a crew heading your way.”
With respect to personnel, Dixon said, ambulance companies across the country are dealing with shortages of paramedics and EMTs.
“We want to focus on retention, and at the same time, we’re doing a very large recruitment push,” he said. “I think we’ve probably already had close to 15 applicants in a matter of seven days.”
In a report issued earlier this year, consultant Steven Athey, of Health Vision LLC, said user fees, which include Medicare, Medicaid, insurance and private pay, are not keeping pace with Life EMS’ expenses. That is a problem with ambulance services nationwide.
The city currently does not provide any subsidy to Life EMS. The ambulance service is entirely self-funded, and that has become an issue, according to the report.
In an earlier commission meeting, City Manager Jerald Gilbert said the city probably is “going to have to pay something at some point.”
Dixon said the city continues to work on that issue.
“I don’t know how long it will take, but I know they are working toward that,” he said. “We have a great base model relationship started, and I think we’ll be able to feed them data and understand that — look here’s what, without any subsidy, all we can afford to do.”
About Mercy Regional
Founded in 2006, Mercy Regional EMS is a private ambulance provider headquartered in Owasso, serving communities across Oklahoma and the surrounding region. The company provides 24-hour emergency medical services, interfacility transfers, long-distance medical transports and medical standby services.
Mercy Regional maintains a modern fleet and places an emphasis on clinical standards and workforce development, supporting continuing education and professional training for EMTs and paramedics. The organization also supports the communities it serves through CPR and first aid education, public safety outreach and participation in local events. For more information, go online to www.mercy-regional.com.
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