Dedicated to providing consistent, timely and clinically excellent service to our patients, clients and communities.
About Aetna Ambulance Service, Inc.
Company Background
Aetna Ambulance Service, Inc. has been providing exceptional care since 1945. That's not a typo. Since 1945! We were there at the dawn of emergency medical services and have been creating a history of operating excellence ever since.
Founded in 1945 by Howard and Herman Grady, Aetna Ambulance Service, with headquarters in Hartford, has a rich history of dedication to Emergency Medical Services and distinction in medical transportation.
Howard and Herman Grady were brothers who began the ambulance portion of Aetna in response to 1944's Hartford Circus Fire that claimed the lives of 138 individuals. An unnecessary loss of life resulted from the lack of medical transportation during the disaster. In order to meet this dire need, the Grady's used the hearse-style delivery van from their florist shop as an ambulance.
Click for PDF of Herman Grady's Obituary
Click for Aetna in a vintage Hartford Hospital ED advertisement
The two were later joined by their wives, Jean and Ethel, who were also sisters. The sisters, known as "the ladies" were instrumental to the operation of the company and remained intimately involved until their retirement in 2006. The Grady sisters passed away within days of one another in 2008.
Click for a story on the passing of Jean and Ethel Grady
It is a point of pride for Aetna employees that the company has such a rich history. More than ten years before the civil rights movement took hold in America, the Grady's, who were African-Americans, were operating a successful business that fulfilled a vital public service need.
Company Background
Aetna Ambulance Service, Inc. has been providing exceptional care since 1945. That's not a typo. Since 1945! We were there at the dawn of emergency medical services and have been creating a history of operating excellence ever since.
Founded in 1945 by Howard and Herman Grady, Aetna Ambulance Service, with headquarters in Hartford, has a rich history of dedication to Emergency Medical Services and distinction in medical transportation.
Howard and Herman Grady were brothers who began the ambulance portion of Aetna in response to 1944's Hartford Circus Fire that claimed the lives of 138 individuals. An unnecessary loss of life resulted from the lack of medical transportation during the disaster. In order to meet this dire need, the Grady's used the hearse-style delivery van from their florist shop as an ambulance.
Click for PDF of Herman Grady's Obituary
Click for Aetna in a vintage Hartford Hospital ED advertisement
The two were later joined by their wives, Jean and Ethel, who were also sisters. The sisters, known as "the ladies" were instrumental to the operation of the company and remained intimately involved until their retirement in 2006. The Grady sisters passed away within days of one another in 2008.
Click for a story on the passing of Jean and Ethel Grady
It is a point of pride for Aetna employees that the company has such a rich history. More than ten years before the civil rights movement took hold in America, the Grady's, who were African-Americans, were operating a successful business that fulfilled a vital public service need.