Buffalo, New York (Friday, January 13, 2006) – Rural/Metro Medical Services of Western New York and Kaleida Health announced today that it has signed a five-year agreement for ambulance services.

Rural/Metro provides inter-facility transfers at the Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) levels for all the Kaleida Health facilities including its five major hospitals, Buffalo General Hospital, DeGraff Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo and numerous community healthcare centers.

“Kaleida is the largest provider of healthcare services in Western New York and we are honored to have them continue to choose Rural/Metro as their ambulance provider”, said Rob Zachrich, General Manager of Rural/Metro Medical Services. “This is a tremendous testament to the hard work our more than 500 employees perform each and every day.”

Rural/Metro Medical Services transports thousands of inter-facility, 911, and general transports to and from Kaleida Health facilities each year.

“Kaleida Health and Rural/Metro have had a successful history of partnership in health care,” said James R. Kaskie, President and CEO of Kaleida Health. “The ambulance service’s Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians work hand in hand with our nurses and physicians to ensure safe and reliable medical transportation for our patients.”

Rural/Metro, headquartered in Buffalo, New York, has satellite offices and ambulance bases in Cheektowaga, Hamburg, and Niagara Falls as well as several others locations throughout Erie, Niagara and Orleans Counties. Their 500+ paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and support personnel are responsible for servicing 22 hospitals and over 100 nursing homes and health care facilities as well as the one million residents that reside in Western New York.

Kaleida Health is the largest health care provider in Western New York. They serve the area's eight counties with state-of-the-art technology and comprehensive healthcare services by expert, compassionate healthcare professionals to bring their patients the best possible care.