YOUR EMERGENCY IS OUR PRIORITY
who we are
Family owned and operated, Bud’s Ambulance and Daley’s Ambulance represent more than 70 years of dedication to the community. Our founder, John “Bud” Daley Jr., was a pioneer in civilian EMS, offering the first Advanced Life Support services in the Chicago area. Our family is honored to be entrusted with caring for you and your loved ones.
Bud's Ambulance, is the highest volume 9-1-1 provider in South Cook County. Serving 10 South Chicagoland communities, Bud's Ambulance is proud to be the primary paramedic-level response for more than 110,000 Cook County residents. Through mutual aid agreements with Fire Departments in the South Suburbs of Chicago, Bud's Ambulance is capable of supplying ambulances for large-scale disasters as well as assisting municipal-based agencies when EMS call volumes exceed available resources. We are a member of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) divisions 22, 24 and 27. Additionally, Bud's Ambulance offers both emergency and non-emergency transportation solutions for healthcare facilities.
Daley's Ambulance, our Will County operation, responds to 9-1-1 calls in the Village of Rockdale, IL and serves multiple healthcare facilities in Will County and the surrounding areas. Because of our strong industry relationships, Daley's Ambulance has proven to be an ideal platform for piloting innovative practices in the delivery of prehospital care. This includes Dementia and Alzheimer's Training for our first responders, an industry first. Through both Bud's and Daley's, we continue to pursue cost-effective, outcome-driven solutions to improve the health and welfare in our communities.
our history
John "Bud" Daley Jr. served in the Korean War as a corpsman, where he learned the importance of quality patient care. After leaving Korea, he was assigned to the Philippine Islands, where he managed a military ambulance. Through his experience, Bud realized that medically trained personnel should be available to everyone in a time of need. Upon leaving the army in 1949, Bud travelled to Fargo, ND and worked for an ambulance company, where he learned what it took to run such a service. With a little money and plenty of determination, Bud returned to his home in Harvey, IL and Daley's Ambulance was born on Septemeber 1, 1950.
In 1955, Bud married Betty, who became his partner in the business and in life. Betty would answer the phone and talk on the radio from the family's kitchen table.
The company started with two used ambulances (a 1936 LaSalle and a 1946 Packard), which were equipped with first aid equipment, including oxygen. When the American Red Cross developed a training program, all of Daley's employees attended, become the first company to hold advanced first aid certificates. In 1955, the American College of Surgeons came up with guidelines for splinting and handling traumatic injuries. Daley's Ambulance participated in that training to further educate their staff.
In 1972, the television show "Emergency!" forever changed the face of Emergency Medical Services by introducing the path EMS would follow. The TV show chronicled the calls of a fictitious Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51 that responded to and provided Advanced Life Support (ALS) care outside the hospital setting. This was unheard of at the time and it was a positive "push" for what we expect out of EMS today. Daley's Ambulance was a leader in having a certified staff of Emergency Medical Technicians and was the first private ambulance to provide ALS Services in the Chicago area.
The Daley family has called Dolton, IL home since 1974 where they owned and operated their first building located at 132 E. Sibley Boulevard, with 2 ALS paramedic units. They provided service to the Village of Dolton. As the need for quality and dependable service grew, Daley's quickly emerged as the largest Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Service provider in the South Cook County Emergency Service area.
In May of 1995, Daley's Medical Transport outgrew the building at 132 and built a facility at 1234 East Sibley Boulevard. This new facility had room for more ambulances and a state-of-the-art dispatch center.
In 2001, the founder John "Bud" Daley Jr., passed away and Daley's Medical Transport d/b/a Bud's Ambulance began. Today, John "Jack" Daley III is the President and CEO. Jack has been a paramedic for over 40 years. Our Executive Management also brings over 30 years of EMS service and oversee operations as licensed Paramedics. Our Executive Management team is required to go out on an ambulance and work beside our crews on a regular basis.
In August of 2012, Daley's Ambulance opened operations in Joliet, IL and continues to grow every year.
