Bemidji Ambulance
Dedicating time, knowledge, skill, and service to those in need.
QUICK STATS
-
Skilled ALS ambulance service running Paramedic-EMT teams
-
Brand new facility featuring state-of-the-art education resources and comfortable amenities
-
Our team members work 24-hour shifts with 2 days on, 4 days off schedule—great opportunity for exploring the area
-
Annual call volume of over 6000 requests for service answered by 4 duty crews
-
Primary Service Area covers two counties and three municipalities, in addition to mutual aid agreements with surrounding agencies
-
Interfacility transfers to Fargo, Grand Forks, Duluth, Twin Cities, Rochester, and more
-
Recently expanded to second station to better serve customers and EMS partners
Company History
Bemidji Ambulance Service has been providing emergency medical services to Bemidji and surrounding areas for over 60 years. It has been owned and managed by three generations of the LaCoursiere family during this time.
The original municipal ambulance service was purchased by Merle LaCoursiere in 1961 and renamed to Bemidji Ambulance Service. He built ambulances out of station wagons, SUVs and vans, outfitting them with shelving and cabinets to rival factory built rigs. Merle grew the business and added equipment to better serve the rugged northern Minnesota terrain, including an ambulance snowmobile and four-wheel drive truck.
Business changed hands to Merle’s son, Scott LaCoursiere, in the early 1980s. Prior to running the business, Scott worked as a paramedic and got his start on the trucks at age 16. He continued to grow and diversify the business, and Bemidji Ambulance Service expanded into an advanced life support (ALS) provider in 1988 with the purchase of advanced life-saving equipment for the trucks, which by this time had been updated to modular ambulances, and staffing paramedics on every crew.
Fast forward to today, Andrew LaCoursiere is the third generation presiding over the company his family built. Bemidji Ambulance Service is responding to call volumes that are eight times their original numbers in the 1960s, with no signs of slowing. Meeting the needs of a changing health landscape and forging partnerships with regional hospitals and other EMS providers are critical to success. As we grow our team and increase community education, we continue our commitment to providing and improving prehospital care.