This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from November 6, 2025. 

Morning reading. How ’bout some EMS history from Mecklenburg County and Charlotte. Forty-seven years ago this week, MEDIC, the Mecklenburg EMS Agency, began operating as the county’s new ambulance service. They were placed in service at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 1978.

They assumed the role from Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Service (MEMS), a private company that had provided service since 1960. Originally called Charlotte Ambulance Service, Inc., they were renamed MEMS in 1974.

Here’s a deep dive on the transition. Older readers who recall or lived these events, reach out with clarifications or corrections. Thank you.

Replacement Ambulance Service

MEDIC was intended as a replacement for MEMS. The county created their own ambulance agency after concerns about MEMS and their level of service.[1][2] But MEMS owner Robby Brandes tried to stop the county from operating their own ambulances. He filed a lawsuit in superior court that was rejected by a judge in August 1978.

After MEDIC started operating in November 1, 1978, MEMS also remained in operation and even though their contract with the county had expired at midnight on October 31, 1978. More on that in a moment.

[1] The county first tried to buy MEMS, but were never able to reach an agreement. The owner originally wanted $450,000, and the county offered $289,000. [CN, 11/2/78, 11/3/78]

[2] On May 1, 1978, the county commissioners authorized funding to establish the Mecklenburg Office of Emergency Services. They granted the office the authority to administer and operate the new EMS system. The county was oversaw the Central Medical Emergency Dispatch (CEMD) system.

Snapshot Of The New Service

MEDIC started operation with both emergency and convalescent ambulances, possibly seven total, four for emergency calls. They had 32 EMTs and eight dispatchers already hired, with eight more EMTs coming from MEMS that would start on November 15. Their target amount, for full-strength, was 45 EMTs and eight dispatchers. [CO, 10/12/78]

The director of MEDIC was Frank Hoffmeister, the assistant director of operations was Steve Wilkerson. They operated from four “decentralized” locations [and two possibly former MEMS locations.] [CO, 10/12/78, 11/30/78]

MEMS continued to operate. They had two [or more] ambulances. And, within the city limits, the Charlotte Fire Department also responded to all emergency medical calls, as a first responder service. That program also started on November 1, 1978. [CO, 11/30/78]

Other Ambulance Providers

Also, there were other ambulances operating outside the city limits:

• Pineville VFD (one ambulance) was franchised by the county as an ambulance provider. [Correct? Have seen conflicting citations.]
• North Mecklenburg Ambulance Service (three ambulances) was also franchised. They had over 23,000 people in a 105-square-mile service
• Mint Hill VFD (two ambulances) was also franchised.

Additional ambulances, not franchised by the county as a service but state-certified as transport vehicles, were also operated by:

• Charlotte Life Saving and Rescue Squad (4)
• Newell VFD (1)
• North Mecklenburg Rescue Squad (different agency than NMAS) (3)
• Steele Creek VFD (1)
• U-Meck Rescue Squad(3)
• Wilkinson Boulevard VFD (1)

[Citation goes here.]

The First Few Days

From newspaper stories, here’s some of what happened during the first few days that MEDIC was operational.

11/01 – 0014 hours

MEDIC answered their first call. Vehicle collision at South Boulevard and Sharon Road. One patient with an injured shoulder transported to Charlotte Memorial Hospital. [CN, 11/1/78]

11/01 – 0230 hours

Shortly before that time, MEDIC responded to an automobile accident on Sardis Road. They treated a victim and were getting ready to leave when the ambulance developed a mechanical problem, a generator issue. A second ambulance was dispatched and transported the patient to Presbyterian Hospital. The disabled ambulance was repaired and was soon back in service.

11/01 – 1200 hours – First six-hour total:

• MEDIC – six calls
• MEDIC – ~ 20 calls.

11/02 – 0001 hours – First 24-hour total:

• MEDIC – 35 calls
• MEMS – 27 calls

11/02 – 0100 hours – First call for MEMS on second day.

Unconscious person at a club at 4125 E. Independence Boulevard. No treatment or transport needed.

11/02 – 1100 hours – Second day report:

• MEDIC – 15 calls
• MEMS – 6 calls

Two Week Total

Reported the Charlotte News on November 16, 1978, the new service had answered almost twice as many ambulance calls as the old one:

• MEDIC – 611
• MEMS – ~ 360

One reason was noted in the Charlotte Observer on November 2, that the emergency phone number for MEMS was listed on the inside cover of the phone book (remember those?). But the number for MEDIC wasn’t listed, because the current phone book was printed last July.

The change in ambulance service also meant more work for a political candidate who was running for her fourth term on the county board of commissioners. She had stickers printed with emergency phone numbers to hand out to voters, but with the change, her campaign works had to spent “hours and hours” crossing out the number for MEMS and replacing with the number for MEDIC. They only had 3,000 stickers to fix, noted a news story. [CO, 11/4/78]

Duplicate Dispatches

Reported the Charlotte News on November 2, 1978, there two times when both MEDIC and MEMS responded to the same call. Both were “minor house calls.” Speculated one MEMS employee, people might be calling both services and then waiting to “see who gets there first.” At the first call, at about 8:00 a.m., MEMS arrived first. At the second call, at about 4:30 p.m., MEDIC arrived first.

What would happen if both MEMS and MEDIC ambulances arrived at the same time to a car accident, the newspaper asked? Said the MEMS owner in the Charlotte Observer, the one that arrived first would be responsible for transporting the injured person to the scene. And they would not be racing each other to the scene.

Other Problems

Another problem also presented. When people called MEMS, their phone call did not set into motion the first responder system, which would dispatch either a city or volunteer county unit in addition to the ambulance. Many of the volunteer units wanted county commissioners to ask MEMS to notify county dispatchers when a MEMS ambulance was responding to an emergency. [CO, 11/17/78]

As noted in the Charlotte Observer on November 21, 1978, the county ambulance franchise for MEMS ended at midnight on October 13. And the owner was informed that he could not legally operate the ambulance service without a franchise. But no actions were taken to stop him. On November 20, county commissioners consider a new request from the MEMS owner for a new franchise. The board split 2-2 over a series of votes to grant the franchise and the proposal died. [CO, 11/21/78]

In December 1978, the MEMS owner filed another lawsuit in superior court, contending that his company had the legal right to compete with MEDIC. He sought an injunction that would restrain county officials from “taking any further action to harm the business.” The county responded by filing a counter claim, asking the court to dismiss the suit and permanently stop MEMS from operating. By that time, MEMS was receiving about 750 calls a month, half of them emergency calls. [CN, 1/10/79]

Mems Ends Operations

On February 2, 1979, a Superior Court judge ruled that the MEMS owner had a right to continue operating his ambulance business. He ordered the county to grant MEMS a franchise, giving MEMS the right to compete with MEDIC. But, noted a county attorney, the local ambulance ordinance stated that “any franchise could be revoked with six months notice.” And there was nothing to prevent the county from immediately giving the MEMS owner six-month notice of its termination. [CN, 2/3/79]

After the ruling, county commissioners offered to re-open negotiations with the owner of MEMS to purchase his business. [CN, 3/1/79]

On March 5, 1979, county commissioners granted MEMS an ambulance franchise. They then entered an executive session and voted 4-1 to buy the service for $78,000. The price included $50,000 for franchise rights, $19,000 for two ambulances, and $9,000 for medical supplies and equipment. [CN, 3/5/79]

The county also agreed to “extend a good faith effort to employee MEMS workers as vacancies occur.” One county commissioner estimated that the county was losing about $10,000 a month because of competition with MEMS. [CN, 3/5/79]

On Friday, March 9, 1979, MEMS ceased operating at 8:00 a.m. They answered their last call at 8:10 p.m. on Thursday, March 8, 1979. And beginning at 8:00 a.m. the next day, all emergency calls were referred to MEDIC. The company had two ambulances and 21 EMTs on the payroll. [CN, 3/9/79]

The business office at 1200 South Boulevard would remain open for at least a few weeks, as they had an estimated $140,000 in past-due bills to collect. [CN, 3/9/79]

Then What Happened?

By January 10, 1979, MEDIC was already operating near capacity, nearing 1,400 calls a month. During December 1978, they received 1,385 calls, of which 1,210 were emergency calls. [CN, 1/10/79]

In November 1979, two new MEDIC stations were dedicated. Locations were Beatties Ford Road at Interstate 85 and on Conference Drive off Independence Boulevard. Each was equipped with a single ambulance and a two-person full-time crew. [CN, 11/20/79] They replaced temporary facilities at each location.

They operated on “six-week rotating schedules with six men per vehicle and two per shift.” With the opening, MEDIC now had four ambulance bases, along with their main station on East Boulevard and another satellite station on Nations Ford Road. [CN, 11/20/79]

In 1980, MEDIC “attendants” were trained to give IV fluids. In January 1983, a pilot program started to train MEDIC “attendants” on advanced cardiac life support, which allowed the administration of drugs and using defibrillators and heart monitors. [CO, 1/9/83]

In September 1981, a fifth [correct?] MEDIC station opened at Charlotte Memorial Hospital. [CN, 9/10/81]

In April 1983, the county was seeking proposals from firms to take over convalescent ambulance service from MEDIC. Out of 22,000 calls that MEDIC received each year, about 2,000 were for convalescent. [Source?]

See source articles and read more Charlotte/Mecklenburg EMS and rescue history at https://legeros.com/blog/charlotte-ambulance-history/