Our Story & Mission
In February 1998, Lauren Rubinson launched an ambulance service with a card table, a telephone, and two ambulances parked outside a Chicago storefront. MedEx just celebrated its 25th year!
After 13 years of working for private ambulance providers, Lauren Rubinson believed in a better way to provide exceptional care for patients, employees, and families. That’s why she created MedEx - an ambulance service dedicated to personalized emergency care and improved company culture.
Employees Come First
From the start, Rubinson wanted MedEx to be different. Rather than focusing on trucks and equipment, she emphasized culture, employees, and strengthened relationships. “It’s a high-stress business,” said Rubinson, “To be successful, you have to take care of your employees, and in turn, they’ll take care of your customers. And with a shortage of EMS professionals around the country, it’s crucial for our company to be recognized as a great place to work.”
Believing in Yourself and Your Vision
In a recent Chase Bank newsletter, Rubinson explained that creating MedEx wasn’t something that she wanted to do. “Creating MedEx was something I needed to do,” she said. “And being a woman was never a disadvantage: If you can do a better job, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman.”
Rubinson likes to spread positive messages and believes in the power of positive thinking. “Even in those early days when we stared at the telephone praying for it to ring with a transport request, I told the team that our plan for MedEx will work.” That was twenty years ago, when MedEx conducted three transports a day. Over 25 years later, MedEx averages more than 200 transports a day!
Our Customers
MedEx offers reliable medical transportation services including all levels of ground ambulance service, a state-of-the-art critical care program, and partnerships with air ambulance services to hundreds of healthcare facilities throughout the Chicagoland area. These include Lurie Children’s Hospital, University of Chicago Medicine, University of Illinois Hospital, Kindred Hospitals of Chicago, and Swedish Covenant Hospital.
OUR MISSION
Our Mission is to Provide Safe and Effective Medical Transport.
Our Values
Compassion
We are kind and caring to everyone we encounter
Collaboration
We work together as a team to affect superior transport care and organization performance known as the MedEx Way!
Customer Focus
We focus on current and future customer needs to strive to exceed expectations.
Excellence
We promote the highest standards of performance through a commitment to quality and the best clinical, operational, and administrative practices.
Integrity
We will build trust through our actions.
Safety
Safety is a guiding principle behind everything we do
A Certified Woman Business Enterprise
Since 2007, Rubinson has served as a Board Member on the Swedish Covenant Hospital Foundation Board. She has also served on the Hospital’s Women’s Health Initiative Campaign Steering Committee and raised more than $800,000 for the Women’s Health Initiative.
In 2015, Rubinson was the recipient of the Swedish Covenant Hospital’s Spirit of Compassion Award in honor of the contributions she has made to the hospital and community. In 2016, Rubinson was recognized by EMS1 Magazine as one of fourteen of the most influential women in EMS throughout the world.
Rubinson is an active member of the American Ambulance Association (AAA) and the Illinois State Ambulance Association (ISAA). She also serves on the AAA Nominating Committee.
Our History
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1998: MedEx Opens for business
In February 1998, Lauren Rubinson launched an ambulance service with a card table, a telephone and two ambulances parked outside a Chicago storefront
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1999: Wheelchair Van, Medicar service begins
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2001: MedEx begins long-standing relationship with Swedish Hospital.
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2002: MedEx relocates its base of operation to Skokie where it remains today
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2005: MedEx joins 148 other ambulances services from across the country to assist with the Hurricane Katrina Disaster in Louisiana
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2009: MedEx began providing medical stand-by service for the j.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge
The J.P Morgan Corporate Challenge is the world's largest corporate running event and MedEx is always on hand to provide medical care.
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2010: MedEx began providing ground support for The University of Chicago Aeromedical Network (UCAN).
UCAN is staffed by a dedicated team of specially trained flight nurses, EMS pilots and communication specialists — all of whom are ready to respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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2011: Chicago locations on S. Des Plaines St in the heart of Chicago’s South Loop
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2012: Lurie Move Day
After 130 years, Children’s Memorial Hospital moved to a new facility and began operating as Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago. MedEx transported 127 patients to their new home at Lurie Children’s.
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2013: Rubinson was recognized by Chase Bank as an entrepreneur representing the spirit of American business.
As a longtime Chase client, Rubinson was featured in Chase’s Mission Main Street multi-media advertising campaign that featured success stories from a business owner’s perspective. Rubinson was among nine Chase clients featured in the campaign out of more than four million middle-market businesses nationwide.
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2014: When there was a global health concern with the Ebola virus, MedEx staffed an "Ebola Ambulance."
This specially outfitted ambulance was able to provide safe and effective transport to suspected Ebola patients.
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2017: Assurance Insurance Company recognized Medical Express Ambulance Service (MedEx) as a MRMH Award recipient.
MedEx is a premier ambulance transportation provider for the Chicagoland area
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2020: COVID
When the pandemic hit, MedEx leadership initiated a daily, worldwide search for personal protective equipment. The Response Team adapted to treat and transport hundreds of COVID-positive patients as the pandemic progressed.
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2023: In February, MedEx celebrated its 25th year of top-notch service.
Thank you to our employees who have been with us from the beginning and all the years since!
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2023: Lauren Rubinson, our CEO, and Founder, received the prestigious Vanguard Award from the American Ambulance Association (AAA).
The Vanguard Award, presented by the AAA, recognizes women who have made significant advancements in EMS and have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation.
Need Us?
We’ll Be Waiting for You on the Other Line
MedEx has built its reputation on a commitment to quality patient care and exceptional customer service.