MediRide EMS closing doors

Medi-Ride EMS is closing up shop after more than a decade of paramedic service in the Upper Peninsula.

The privately owned company was one of three emergency medical transportation providers licensed by the state to respond to calls in Marquette County, alongside Bell Hospital and Marquette General.

MediRide EMS co-owner Dave Guizetti addressed the sudden closing on their since deactivated Facebook page earlier this morning.

“After 13 and a half years of providing services to the people of Marquette County, my business partner, Michelle DeLisle and I have decided to cease our EMS operation. We feel honored to have had the opportunity to help so many of our friends, family and neighbors throughout our community and we’ll miss that. We feel truly blessed to have had so many great employees over the years, and we’ll miss them the most. While this chapter of our lives is closing, we’re looking forward to working on the new projects before us. We’d like to thank the community for all their support!”

Unlike first responders, paramedic service providers are able to administer medical care on scene.

“People would call 911 and either MediRide, Marquette General, or Bell Hospital would come as a paramedic ambulance service. They could treat any injuries, put a backboard on someone, bandage someone, start IVs, give medication, use a defibrillator; basically, a paramedic ambulance service is like a mobile emergency room,” explained Bob Struck, the U.P. EMS Executive Director. “They’re able to take care of the patient right at the scene, keep that person alive, and get that person to hospital so they can receive more definitive care.”

Marquette General reassured residents in the county in regard to the MediRide closure:

“MGH has been made aware of this possibility. Therefore, MGH and other Marquette County emergency responders are staffed and equipped to handle all EMS calls. Residents should see no change in either ambulance coverage or response times.”