911 EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE

In 1987, residents of unincorporated areas of Hidalgo County Precinct 4 found that it was difficult, if not impossible, to get emergency ambulance response to the area. The unfortunate fact was that because of the small volume of calls and the low payment rate from patients, ambulance companies capable of providing 911 emergency ambulance simply did not want to do so in our area. Ambulance companies felt that it was an economic loss for an ambulance company to have an ambulance on standby in those rural areas.   To address the issue, voters in the area submitted a petition  to the County of Hidalgo calling for a referendum to create a rural fire prevention district to ensure the availability of emergency ambulance service to the area. The referendum was placed on the ballot and approved by the voters during the November 1987 election. After the election, the Hidalgo County Rural Fire Prevention District No. 3 was ordered created by the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court. In 2003, the Texas Legislature converted all then existing rural fire prevention districts into emergency services districts. The "Hidalgo County Rural Fire Prevention District No. 3" thereafter became the "Hidalgo County Emergency Services District No. 3". Since its inception, the mission of this entity has been met by contracting with qualified ambulance companies to provide emergency ambulance service to the area. The ESD No. 3 has chosen to contract with third-party companies to provide ambulance service rather than operating its own service because up to this point, it has been more cost effective to contract the services. In consideration for agreeing to provide emergency ambulance service to area, the ESD No. 3 agrees to pay the contracted ambulance company a subsidy which is intended to compensate the ambulance company for the economic loss which the ambulance company would otherwise incur by having an ambulance on standby to service the area of the ESD No. 3.

The ESD No. 3's contracted 911 emergency ambulance company is Med Care EMS which is currently on a three-year contract with the ESD No. 3 which will expire in April 2024. For non-emergency inquiries, Med Care EMS can be contacted at (956) 661-4100. Med Care's central office is located at 1501 S. K Center Street, McAllen, Texas 78503. To learn more about Med Care EMS click on the button below.

FOR EMERGENCY CALLS DIAL 911