ASM (the Ambulance Service of Manchester) is a privately-owned commercial service which provides both emergency medical response and medical transportation. Its coverage area is extensive, expanding throughout Hartford county and the surrounding region. ASM is currently headquartered in Manchester, Connecticut, and operates a fleet of 22 ambulances. ASM is an equal opportunity employer, and employs in excess of 200 employees. The company has, in recent years, joined in a corporate partnership with Hartford Healthcare Corporation and ECHN (Eastern Connecticut Health Network).

History

The company itself was founded in 1959 by Roger Talbot Sr. as a single proprietorship. As the sole employee, he operated from a local Ford dealership, providing medical transportation to the community in a single hearse-style Cadillac. ASM is also a founding member of the Connecticut Medical Transportation Service (CMTS). This service originated through the cooperation of seven different ambulance companies, as well as three wheelchair and livery services.

Emergency Medical Coverage

Emergency services, as well as paramedic intercepts, are provided to towns throughout the Hartford, Tolland, and Windham regions. ASM provides emergency coverage in the following towns: Manchester, East Hartford, South Windsor, Glastonbury, and Bolton. ALS (Advanced Life Support) coverage is also provided to the surrounding communities on a mutual-aid basis.

The primary service areas (Manchester and East Hartford) are currently covered by Paramedic-level fire department staff, which provides the majority of ALS emergency treatment. In these towns, ASM responds with the fire department and provides emergency medical transportation to the surrounding hospitals.

Routine Medical Transportation

Along with emergency medical coverage, ASM also accepts routine medical transportation. ASM provides a variety of routine transfer services, to include: transportation between hospitals and convalescent facilities, dialysis transportation, supervised psychiatric transportation, long-distance transfers between facilities, transportation to a physician appointment, etc.

Along with these routine services, ASM regularly accepts “STAT” transports. These are circumstances that require timely transportation. Some examples of these include: Transportation with a Connecticut Children’s Medical Center specialty team, transportation with Life-Star personnel, transportation of organ harvesting teams to designated hospitals, etc.