The Value Care dispatch center, located on Fairview Road, has a few offices, a receptionist desk and a garage larger than most.

“We’re off to save lives,” Value Care employee Russ Taylor, and the South Zanesville Fire Chief, hollers down the hallway on his way out to a truck.

The ambulance service that was formed in June 2017, licensed by State of Ohio in September 2017 and began operations with only one paramedic on one ambulance, has blossomed into a 24 hours per day, seven days a week EMS service that staffs 45 employees and operates five ambulances.

“As humbly as I can say it, I’m overwhelmed by the way this community and the surrounding communities have embraced Value Care and the brand and our service,” Jamey Baker, the founder, owner and CEO of Value Care, said. “So much so that we’re really ahead of plan.”

Baker has worked in local EMS in various capacities for 28 years. He has lived in the Zanesville-Muskingum County community for about 25 of those years, so a community focused company was at the forefront of his initial plan for Value Care.

“I really wanted to build it as an independent company that was highly focused on the community, on patients, on our families and on our people in terms of our employees,” Baker said. “So, that’s kind of the culture we built it on.”

Not only was a locally owned and operated business important to Baker, adding to the local economy and giving back to the community has been a part of his agenda from day one.

Value Care provides EMS services for local events and school functions, one of the latest events being the Zanesville City Half Marathon.

“I wanted to be able to give back, not just on the service side and employment side but really back as a community asset and corporate citizen,” Baker said. “And I think we’ve made really great strides, we’re very blessed to be able to do that quickly and on a pretty large scale.”

While giving back and integrating into the community has been extremely important for Baker and his company, he had to staff his operation before embarking on the larger-scale community efforts. Fortunately enough, he said that he lives in an area with a wealth of EMS talent.

“I also wanted to create a new EMS employment option,” Baker said. “There’s not a lot of EMS employment in the area and it’s a great career, it’s been a great career for me. I’ve said for many years, Southeast Ohio has some of the best EMS talent in the entire state and I wanted to be able to provide employment options.”

The value based company has transported thousands of patients this year, taken hundreds of requests and has even had to turn some non-emergency requests down due to the high volume of requests it has received.

In March of 2018, Value Care was licensed through the City of Zanesville to provide EMS to the city. After receiving that license, the company was integrated into a call rotation, so every other 911 call needing medic response in the City of Zanesville is dispatched to Value Care.

Additionally, the company has a customer base that has been established through many referral sources throughout seven counties.

“We’re very pleased with the way our customer base has grown,” Baker said. “That’s a long way from one person, one truck and no calls to taking service requests and providing service to well over 45 referral points. So, we’re very blessed from that regard.”

With a large client base, Baker said he gets calls almost daily from people who were pleased with the service Value Care provided. Being a value based company means that reimbursement is tied to patient satisfaction, quality of service and how efficient and effective the program is.

Given that business model, providing quality care is vital to the company. To ensure that every patient receives the best care possible, Baker hired an initial group of 30 local paramedics that had at least 10 years of experience under their belt.

“From my perspective, I can have vision, and I can have passion, but you really can’t execute on a business like this without your people,” Baker said. “I think we have some of the most talented and caring EMS folks, and probably even more so than that, they’re 100 percent dedicated, and they’re our biggest asset, frankly.”

Many of Baker’s employees utilize their skills at other jobs, as well. Whether in volunteer roles at local volunteer fire and EMS departments or employed at other companies, Value Care isn’t many of his employees only job.

“We love that because, from my perspective, that just helps continues to help them be the best when they’re here,” Baker said. “So we actually encourage that.”

With a staff and a company that’s being outgrown by demand, Baker has some plans in the works for expansion. The most immediate plan is to add two more ambulances to the crew by the end of 2018.

By the time 2019 rolls around, Baker anticipates that the company will continue its expansion into other counties to provide the quality service that many Zanesville residents are receiving to people in the surrounding Southeast Ohio area.

“Doing it in my hometown, it’s really just been a dream come true,” Baker said. “I’m a paramedic and a part of the local community for well over 25, 26 years, (and) I really can’t think of a more rewarding endeavor than to be giving back to my community in such a meaningful way.”

Value Care is Y-City New’s business spotlight for the month of September.