Northern Arizona VA expands ambulance services to meet growing needs of area Veterans
By Max Efrein, Public Affairs Officer
The Northern Arizona VA Health Care System (NAVAHCS) has announced an expansion of ambulance services to meet the growing need for timely, high-quality medical transportation for Veterans across the region.
On July 24, the health care system began using a VA-operated non-emergency ambulance to build on their existing medical transportation services, with plans to deploy a second ambulance later this year. This in-house ambulance program works alongside VA’s contracted community partners to deliver faster and more reliable medical transportation for local Veterans.
“Expanding ambulance services ensures Veterans can get to the right place, at the right time, for the care they need,” said Steve Sample, NAVAHCS Executive Director. “This investment strengthens coordination across our facilities and helps us deliver faster, safer, and more reliable, non-emergency transportation for Veterans in the region.”
While the facility-owned ambulances cannot be used for 911-emergency calls, they can be used for transporting Veterans between NAVAHCS and other medical facilities either locally or as far as Phoenix and Tucson.
The brand-new ambulances are stationed in Prescott and operated by teams of VA paramedics.
“With our paramedics staffing these emergency vehicles, we’re able to offer Veterans and other medical personnel smoother handoffs and a stronger continuity of care from start to finish,” said Norman Gray, NAVAHCS Paramedic Supervisor. “It helps ensure that the Veterans we serve experience consistent, coordinated care every step of the way.”
The ambulance service will initially operate during peak transport hours Monday through Friday, with community ambulances continuing to provide coverage during off-hours or whenever additional support is needed.
In addition to serving Veterans, the new ambulance service can support VA’s Fourth Mission — serving as a federal resource for the community during community-wide disasters.
This expansion of VA ambulance services is the latest example of how VA is working better for Veterans. Among other improvements, VA has:
- Enrolled more than 150,000 new Veterans in VA health care in 2026.
- Opened 38 new VA health care facilities since Jan. 20, 2025, expanding health care access for Veterans around the country.
- Reduced the backlog of Veterans waiting for VA benefits by 72% since Jan. 20, 2025, after it increased 24% during the prior administration.
- Completed 82,083,918 direct care appointments in FY2025, up 4.1% from FY2024.
- Offered Veterans more than 2.8 million appointments outside of normal operating hours, giving Veterans more timely and convenient options for care.
- Permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans across the country in FY2025, the highest total in seven years.