Cypress Creek EMS

In November 1974, a tragic event occurred in which a man died from a heart attack without pre-hospital care. Afterward, The FM 1960 Community (The stretch of FM 1960 between I-45 and SH 249), took the initiative to form an emergency medical service which came to be known as Cypress Creek EMS, named after the large creek that runs through the area. CCEMS was chartered as a non-profit corporation by the state of Texas on July 25, 1975. https://ccemsnews.com/2016/07/20/cypress-creek-turns-41/

The community desperately raised funds to establish the service and they soon purchased the first ambulance, which arrived on December 14, 1975. At this time, all of the CCEMS staff were volunteers with no reimbursement for their services. To this day, volunteers are a large and integral part of the staff and they range from non-medical drivers to emergency medical technicians to paramedics.

The service relied heavily on donations and fundraisers as it did not receive government funding. Third-Party billing was initiated in 1993 and allowed Cypress Creek EMS to bill insured patients to help with reimbursement. CCEMS was previously affiliated with Emergency Services District 11 and about 51% of its funding was derived from tax dollars.

By 2020, CCEMS was responding to 45,000 – 50,000 calls a year and operated a fleet of twenty-two MICU Type I ambulances with two supervisors in SUVs. CCEMS also provided medical oversight for first responder fire departments and had a volunteer community first responder program allowing qualified EMS personnel to respond to emergency calls in their personal vehicles before a medic unit arrived. CCEMS also operated a bicycle medic team that provided first response at large events such as parades, festivals, races, and Ironman events. The bicycle medic team deployed with an urbane terrain vehicle (UTV) capable of carrying a patient on a stretcher along with trained EMTs and paramedics on bicycles with BLS and ALS treatment equipment. CCEMS also operated a tactical medic team consisting of specially trained paramedics who were also commissioned peace officers and provided medical support for law enforcement tactical teams, including Texas DPS, the FBI, and several local and county law enforcement agencies.

Litigation and Bankruptcy

In February 2019, news broke of publicly funded employees repairing non-fleet vehicles using facilities and equipment intended to service ambulances. Following this, Harris County ESD 11 commissioned several audits and investigations into CCEMS. The CEO, Bradley England, was forced into retirement at this point and replaced by COO Wren Nealy, Jr. In September, 2020, Cypress Creek EMS was served with a 360 day notice that their contract was being cancelled by Harris County ESD 11 and subsequently was sued by ESD 11. In September 2021, Cypress Creek EMS ceased providing 911 responses and transitioned to providing interfacility transports including critical care transports for CHI St Luke’s Health System and for other facilities in the greater Houston area. Critical care capabilities included non-invasive high-flow oxygen therapy, advanced mechanical ventilation, IABP and ECMO transports, ultrasound, and invasive pressure monitoring. Cypress Creek EMS also became licensed as an aeromedical EMS provider and conducted fixed-wing transports.

In November 2021, Cypress Creek EMS declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and laid off more than 50% of staff, and on May 31, 2022, Cypress Creek EMS ceased all medical operations and entered into liquidation as part of a settlement agreement with Harris County ESD 11. In late 2022, remaining assets, trademarks, and branding were bought by Viking Enterprises (DBA City Ambulance Service).