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Acadian Ambulance Service acquires NorthStar EMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOV. 2, 2011

Acadian Ambulance Service will enter the Houston and Dallas markets with the acquisition of NorthStar EMS. The transition will begin immediately and will be completed in the next few weeks with no interruption in service to customers.

NorthStar, which has its home office in Humble, provides emergency and non-emergency transportation and is the sole 911 provider for Huffman. The expansion will add 150 fulltime employees, 30 ambulances and 10 wheelchair vans to Acadian’s Texas operations.

Acadian already provides emergency and non-emergency service to 14 counties in Central, South-Central and Southeast Texas. The company began operating in Texas in 2006. NorthStar EMS, founded in 1998, provides emergency and non-emergency transports throughout Harris County and in Dallas.

“We’re proud of our company and of the service we have provided to our patients and customers, and we’d like to thank our employees who made this possible,” said Donna Russell, CEO of NorthStar. “These employees now will have access to better compensation and benefits packages, and we’re happy that joining forces with Acadian will provide that for them.”

Mike Burney, Acadian vice president of operations for Southeast Texas, said, “For some time, we have known about the high quality of patient care and service that NorthStar provides. We look forward to working with our new partners to deliver that same level of care in the Houston and Dallas markets.”

Porter Taylor, a 25-year Acadian veteran who most recently was operations manager in Baton Rouge, will serve as vice president of operations for the Dallas area.

Acadian, which is owned by its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, plans to hire all qualified field personnel and dispatchers from NorthStar. The entire NorthStar management team will transition to Acadian to help ensure the continuity of quality service. All employees will be eligible for health insurance immediately and for the ESOP retirement plan in July.

Acadian, which also serves Louisiana and Mississippi, was established in 1971. The company has about 3,600 employees and is nationally accredited, one of only 122 ambulance services in the nation and one of six in Texas to have earned the prestigious designation.

For inquiries concerning the Dallas area, contact VP Porter Taylor at Rtaylor@acadian.com.