Pre-hospital Emergency Care

With UMass Memorial’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS), you get the most advanced, expert care even before you get to the hospital. Our highly skilled team includes more than 70 paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)—all trained in advanced life support—who respond to emergencies throughout the city of Worcester and the town of Shrewsbury. 

Emergency Medical Services and Critical Care Transport

UMass Memorial’s EMS manages the 911 call center for Worcester and many surrounding towns, working in collaboration with local police and fire department responders to make sure you get the care you need as quickly as possible.

We’re here for you 24/7.

In addition, Life Flight is an important part of the hospital’s emergency services network and provides pre-hospital care for critically injured and ill patients across the region.

Caring for Patients Right On the Scene

Emergency medicine has changed since we first began our ambulance service in 1977 at the former Worcester City Hospital. Gone are the days when ambulances had “drivers” who simply rushed patients to the hospital.

Today, our team of professional paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) provide pre-hospital care right on scene. Each emergency ambulance crew includes two highly trained, experienced paramedics. UMass Memorial EMS is one of just four in the state that is authorized to practice advanced airway management: We are trained to use special medications to help control breathing for critically ill patients.

To care for patients in the pre-hospital environment, each of our 15 ambulances includes oxygen, suction, heart monitors and other lifesaving devices. We respond to medical and trauma emergencies in Worcester and Shrewsbury, alongside local police and fire department first responders.

UMass Memorial operates the EMS Communications Center, a secondary public safety answering point in Massachusetts linked directly to the 9-1-1 call centers in Worcester and Shrewsbury. Our professional dispatchers use nationally recognized standards for call receiving and triage and are trained to provide 9-1-1 callers with pre-hospital instructions.