September 23, 2026 – Today, the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) celebrates its 35th anniversary serving the City of Richmond. On March 20, 1991 the Virginia General Assembly passed the Richmond Ambulance Authority Act and on September 23, 1991 the City of Richmond granted the franchise to RAA. Since its creation, RAA has responded to more than an estimated 2.1 million calls and transported more than 1.7 million patients.
Prior to RAA’s existence, emergency medical services (EMS) in Richmond were under dire circumstances, as private ambulance services competed for the highest paying patient transports. This often left the City’s most vulnerable communities at risk and underserved. RAA was conceived by the leadership of Richmond City Council and the City Manager in order to guarantee performance and outstanding customer service to Richmond’s citizens regardless of where they lived or their ability to pay. Since its inception, RAA has delivered on that promise and is now known nationally and internationally for its approach to pre-hospital healthcare.
“This is an incredible milestone and we are very proud of our partnership with the City of Richmond and for the opportunity to serve this vibrant community,” said RAA CEO Chip Decker. “Over the last three and a half decades, RAA has built a reputation as one of the top EMS agencies in the country and in the world with our data-driven approach to delivering high-quality clinical care, efficiently and effectively to our patients. None of the recognition, awards or accomplishments would be possible, though, without our dedicated and amazing staff.”
RAA has become a destination for healthcare professionals and is one of a handful of high-performance EMS systems in the United States that are a part of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI). RAA’s recognition has come in part from our unique approach to EMS by using historical data to predict where calls are most likely to come from and strategically positioning ambulances at different locations throughout the city, throughout the day based on those predictions. As a result, Richmond has one of the most advanced EMS systems in the country as ambulances are often in position and ready to respond when a call comes in. RAA’s Communications Center is also one of the longest accredited communications centers in the country by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch which is considered the “gold standard” in public safety dispatch. In recent years, RAA has created programs to combat the opioid epidemic, improve the mental health of first responders and the community, raise Hands-Only CPR awareness and protect children with child car seat inspections.
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About the Richmond Ambulance Authority: In 1991, the Richmond City Council and the City Manager implemented an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system that placed the patient first and guaranteed its performance to the City’s residents. Today, the Richmond Ambulance Authority responds to nearly 200 calls per day and transports, on average, 150 patients per day. RAA is one of only 14 EMS agencies in the United States accredited by both the Commission on the Accreditation of Ambulance Services and the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. RAA is also a Commonwealth of Virginia Accredited Dispatch Center. RAA was recognized with the Governor’s EMS Award for Outstanding Contribution to EMS Health and Safety in 2025.
