This is the best large EMS system in SC. Here’s where and why

No matter how difficult the job or how many emergencies are thrown at them, South Carolina’s paramedics will be working their hardest on someone’s darkest day.

To recognize the paramedics and EMS systems that save thousands of lives each year, an annual awards ceremony is held by the South Carolina EMS Association, a nonprofit organization that serves as the unified voice for emergency medical services professionals across the state.

This year’s award ceremony recognized Prisma Health Ambulance Service as SC’s 2025 Large System of the Year, which goes to an EMS system that responds to over 12,000 calls annually while providing the best care SC has to offer.

“This is more than an award to hang on the wall. It represents the calm voice on someone’s worst day, every lesson taught, every skill practiced, and every moment our teams choose to show up again and again-in service to others,” said Prisma Health EMS in a Facebook post.

Here’s what to know about one of the largest EMS systems in SC:

How Prisma Health Ambulance Service won

The Columbia-based EMS handles over 50,000 calls and transports approximately 40,000 patients each year, using 30 staffed ambulances and 100 specialty vehicles, such as wheelchair vans, quick-response vehicles and an evacuation bus.

Aaron Dix, the administrator of Prisma Health Ambulance Service, said their system’s size and scope are the main reasons why they were recognized by SCEMSA.

“Instead of being responsible for one county and its 911 operations, we are responsible for the movement of patients in and out of all the Prisma Health facilities throughout South Carolina,” he said.

There are over 300 Prisma Health practice sites and 18 acute and specialty hospitals across 21 SC counties.

Prisma Health Ambulance Service is also one of three organizations in the world to have achieved all three of these EMS accreditations:

• Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS)
• Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS)
• APCO Institute’s Emergency Medical Dispatch Program (EMD)

Dix said Prisma Health’s EMS was very intentional over the past few years to become accredited, and even though it was difficult, it paid off in the end.

“I think it’s easy to say that you’re good at what you do, and it’s much harder to prove it. Proving that you’re good by obtaining these accreditations is showing how you interact with the community and how you reduce mortality rates in your community.”

This is the second time Prisma Health Ambulance Service has been recognized as SC’s Large System of the Year. The first time they were awarded the prestigious title was back in 2020, when they became the first ground EMS agency in South Carolina to carry and administer blood.

Prisma Health Ambulance Service program services

Prisma Health Ambulance Service program services include the following:

• 911 response
• Event coverage
• Basic and advanced life support care and transports
• Infectious disease and COVID-19 transports
• Critical care and pediatric specialty care transports
• Special operations paramedics and community paramedics
• Field administration of blood in the Upstate countries
• Distance transports
• Helicopter transports
• Disaster response
• Medical dispatch for Oconee County

To maintain its status as SC’s best large EMS system, Dix said Prisma Health Ambulance Service will review its current policies, procedures and training to make sure nothing needs to be updated.

They will also be putting a large emphasis on leadership, education and support, while continuing to be mindful of the team’s mental health.