EMS Annual Report 2017 Home > Defining Excellence

The mission of the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Department is to provide excellent patient care to anyone, any time, any place in order to decrease suffering, improve the health of the community and save lives.

The vision of the Austin-Travis County EMS Department is to be valued as a collaborative healthcare provider to decrease suffering, improve the health of the community and save lives.

Our actions are guided by our Pillars of Excellence which are the foundation of our Strategic Plan. The pillars include People, Service, Quality, Safety and Finance and establish the framework for our culture and operational effectiveness. When the efforts within each pillar are well executed, the positive outcome is growth and sustainability.

People are our first pillar and focus, because having a committed workforce that takes ownership of the department and its mission means we will always meet our commitments to the community and to each other.

What we provide each other and every day is service. Our service goal is to identify and meet our customer’s needs, exceeding their expectations whenever it is possible. It goes beyond our clinical services, as we always seek to leave the person or situation better than when we found it.

Quality begins with hiring the best people, training them to do it right the first time, and continuously measuring and improving our performance. It is an iterative process. We never stop evaluating ourselves to improve the quality of our care for the community.

Everyone owns safety. We continuously focus on safe practices and strive to weave them into the fabric of our everyday lives. A culture of safety begins at the top of our organization and engages everyone.

Because we are a publicly funded organization, it is our responsibility to act prudently with the community’s money and conduct business in a fiscally responsible manner. We continuously seek innovative ways to maximize the return on the dollars we spend and ensure our spending best meets the needs of our community.