South Texas' First Choice WHEN EVERY SECOND COUNTS
EMS History with South Texas Emergency Care Foundation
The Foundation completed 30 years of service to the area in 2009. The organization, incorporated in January of 1979 to provide pre-hospital emergency services has grown dramatically and is now the third largest non-profit EMS/air medical program in the State of Texas.
Harlingen citizens, led by a group of prominent local leaders created the system as a community based EMS program. Valley Baptist Medical Center played a key role by training the Paramedics, providing medical control and some of the advanced equipment, such as defibrillators, for the ambulances.
From the earliest days, the citizens decided that the new program would be a non-profit service, which would be governed by a Board of Directors comprised of local community leaders. The system would provide Emergency Medical Services to the cities and County.
The community effort paid off with the commencement of service on July 1st, 1979. The new service had become the first "Paramedic" level service in deep South Texas. Over the years, the Foundation grew to cover other communities such as South Padre Island and La Feria.