The origins of A-TEC Ambulance started back in 1986 when Ralph and Rita Troeger recognized a need for an ambulance service that was organized and based on three guiding principles.  The first principle was to provide a service to the community that is patient oriented.  The second principle was to provide the highest level of professional care for any patient in all situations.  The third and final principle was a company built not by one person, but by everyone – A-TEC is a team. 

On June 16, 1986, A-TEC Ambulance started in Sycamore, Illinois functioning out of Ralph and Rita’s home meeting the needs for Kishwaukee Community Hospital and the surrounding community.

It was not long before the three guiding principles were visible to any facility as A-TEC Ambulance quickly began to grow into the Tri Cities area, serving the Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles area by working closely with Delnor Hospital.  It did not take long for A-TEC Ambulance to become essential in Delnor’s interfacility transfers.

A-TEC Ambulance soon required an upgrade in space to separate their family area and create a station for the crew members.  From the beginning, Ralph and Rita understood the importance of taking care of the employees.   They did not think of the crew members as employees, but as part of their family.  During the first ten years, Ralph and Rita opened their home to provide for the employees and were known to include them in every meal.  With the growth of their family and company, it became very clear that they needed to find a larger space for both.   They packed their bags and moved from their original house to a new residence and built a separate living quarters for the staff.  Even with this separation, it was not uncommon to see crews sharing a cup of coffee or a meal with the Troeger family. 

During the first ten years the company continued to grow as Ralph and Rita continued to take care of their employees.  In 1996, Dick A Krause, Sr. became part of A-TEC Ambulance, Inc.  On September 23, 1996 his influence became apparent when A-TEC Ambulance, Inc. made a drastic expansion that included coverage into the Crystal Lake area.  Once again, A-TEC performed their duties based on the original guiding principles and it was not long before facilities recognized the uniqueness of A-TEC, making A-TEC Ambulance a household name.  With this expansion it was clear that A-TEC also needed to offer a new service that would allow patients in wheel chairs to be taken to and from hospitals, skilled nursing homes, doctor offices and treatment centers.  Integrity, a division of A-TEC, was created for this purpose.  Integrity it was just not a name, it was a way of business.

During the expansion in 1996, A-TEC also expanded services into Lake County.  This area was a new frontier with a great deal of opportunity for growth and A-TEC seized that opportunity.  A-TEC quickly found a home working with Victory Hospital (now known as Vista East) and St. Therese (now known as Vista West) along with Condell Hospital (now known as Advocate Condell Hospital).

A-TEC started servicing the Greater Elgin Area in 1998.  Provena St. Joseph Hospital was the first to realize A-TEC's standards and quickly began to call on us to do all their interfacility transports.   Through this partnership, A-TEC and St. Joe’s developed and implemented a Specialty Care Transport program that is still used today!

Then in 1998, the fleet expanded to 8 ambulances and another 4 medivans, it was clear A-TEC needed to develop an in-house vehicle maintenance department.  A-TEC found trained mechanics that were highly motivated and brought them into the family.   The vehicle maintenance department had their own space to ensure the units would remain in peak performance year round, by providing regular maintenance, and immediately handle any mechanical problems that arose.

One of the true milestones for the company came in 2001.  That milestone was when A-TEC Ambulance, Inc. purchased their first property and developed what is known today as the Crystal Lake Station.  This station was designed to house the crews servicing the Crystal Lake area, Maintenance, and an independent dispatch center.  Over the years, Dispatch has required a larger area than that facility offered and moved in to a larger facility.

In 2003, A-TEC Ambulance purchased their second property in Elgin for the sole purpose of consolidating the business office with its billing personnel under one roof.  This allowed for the ability to oversee the procedures and billing techniques that the medical insurance commonly required.  Even with these changes, A-TEC realized the difficulties with staying current with Medicare and Medicaid’s constant changes.  Due to these difficulties, A-TEC decided to outsource our billing process to a company that specializes in EMS billing.  This ensures that each patient is being billed appropriately and correctly to these changing standards. 

Through the day to day activities, it became clear A-TEC’s fleet of ambulances and medivans were in need of a replacement schedule.  In 2007, after months of research, A-TEC bought seven brand new ambulances and at the same time A-TEC created a new design that would clearly mark our units.  When you see one of A-TEC’s ambulances on the road today, you will not forget the unique look they have been given.  Later that year, A-TEC opened an eighth location in McHenry.  This station quickly became the main station for Integrity.  This station is utilized as a place to teach the hands-on training of Integrity personnel after they have completed the week long orientation. 

With all these upgrades to the fleet, it was clear that we required a system to better monitor our fleet and manage all the needs of our service area.  A solution to this problem was to acquire a computer aided dispatch (CAD) system that ensures that we were providing the most accurate and honest ETA’s to any facility in our service area.  On October 22, 2008, A-TEC accomplished this by moving into a state of the art dispatch center that was based around the Zoll ResuceNet CAD System.  This program allowed A-TEC dispatchers to make key decisions on placement of each and every vehicle so that proper coverage was occurring throughout our service areas. 

In 2010, A-TEC purchased nine more ambulances.  With the added vehicles to the fleet, A-TEC was able to provide the correct care for any call that came in, whether it was an emergency or non-emergency.  A-TEC took the Lake County operations and combined them into one major station.  This major commitment created an increase level of service to the facilities in Northern Lake County area. 

After the deliveries of the new ambulances, A-TEC believed that they had a very successful year, but they were soon going to receive an honor that would solidify that thought.  On October 7, 2010,   A-TEC Ambulance, Inc. was the recipient of the prestigious DOVE Award present by Provena St. Joseph Hospital.  The DOVE award (Demonstration of Outstanding Values and Excellence) is presented to only one recipient per year, also the Mayor of Elgin officially declaring October 7, 2010, as     A-TEC Ambulance, Inc. Day in Elgin, Illinois.  This truly was an amazing way to finish off the year.  A-TEC strives to continue to improve and stay true to the core values that have led to our success.

Those of us at A-TEC Ambulance Inc. have always made sure, no matter what we did, we stayed true to these principles.  These principles promote change and ensures that we are continuously committed to doing the right thing and providing ETA’s that are honest.  When it comes down to giving credit for an accomplishment, the only name given will be A-TEC Ambulance Inc. because there are no individuals here, just a big family.