Prehospital Care Services at Allegheny Valley Hospital

The prehospital program for AVH includes campuses at Allegheny Valley Hospital and the former Citizens General Hospital, now Citizens Ambulatory Care Center. It serves Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland Counties and operates AK-Pulser in conjunction with the EMS services of the Allegheny Valley area.

A-K PULSER

Emergencies happen every day. The availability and readiness of a paramedic response unit can mean the difference between life and death.

The Alle-Kiski Paramedic Unit for Life Support Emergency Response (A-K PULSER) provides assistance to local emergency services during these critical times. A-K PULSER is a joint venture of Alle-Kiski Medical Center and 13 area ambulance services, affording its members access to paramedic staffing at all times.

The A-K PULSER takes calls 24 hours a day. Staffed by state certified paramedics, the unit is dispatched directly to the scene of an emergency or can meet an ambulance already en route to a medical facility. The A-K PULSER paramedics remain with the patient until they are transported by the ambulance to the hospital of their choice.

The A-K PULSER was the first paramedic response unit in Pennsylvania established as a not-for-profit corporation under the control of nonprofit ambulance services and a nonprofit hospital.

This rapid-response paramedic unit provides support in the communities of the area through paramedic intercept and station-based paramedics. AVH is a community-based command hospital with the benefit of having the influence and resources provided by tertiary care facilities.

Contact us

Allegheny Valley Hospital Prehospital Care Services
1301 Carlisle Street
Natrona Heights, PA 15065

Keith Murray, MD
EMS Medical Director
(773) 678-0910
[email protected]

Rob Druga, EMT-P
Prehospital Care Coordinator 
(412) 715-9171
[email protected]

Nico Soler, EMT-P
Prehospital Business Development Specialist
(412) 439-9773
[email protected]

Matt Lambert, NRP
Prehospital Business Development Specialist
(412) 266-2061
[email protected]