About Us

Chartered on August 3, 1948, the Southern California Ambulance Association was founded by the fathers of the ambulance industry in Southern California.

Industry pioneers such as J.H. Goodhew of Goodhew Ambulance Service, Carl Dolphin of Dolphin’s Ambulance Service, J. Walter Schaefer of Schaefer Ambulance Service, Ysidro Reyes of Santa Monica Ambulance Service and O.B. Bowers of Bowers Ambulance Service came together to work on common issues of their day so that each of their businesses would continue to be able to offer needed services for the public good.

The association changed its name on December 29, 1969 to the Los Angeles County Ambulance Association to better reflect the geographic area of the association’s primary focus at that time.

In 1979, as Orange County experienced a growth in population and development, the ambulance industry leaders serving Orange County formed the Orange County Ambulance Association, a local trade association based to represent the ambulance service providers operating in Orange County. The name of the association was changed in 1989 to the Ambulance Association of Orange County.

At their respective meetings in the fall of 2023, the memberships of the Ambulance Association of Orange County and the Los Angeles County Ambulance Association voted to merge the two groups into one unified industry trade association.

On November 21, 2023, the members of the Los Angeles County Ambulance Association voted to change the name of the merged ambulance association to its original name — the Southern California Ambulance Association.

Today, the association represents 25 licensed ambulance service providers operating approximately 1,200 emergency ambulances throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The Southern California Ambulance Association is proud to continue its long-standing mission of serving as a well-respected collective and authoritative voice on issues relevant to the ambulance industry, just as it has for over 75 years.