Whidbey General Hospital opened for public service in 1970. The hospital board of directors, attending physicians and staff of WGH have supported pre-hospital emergency care on Whidbey Island both financially a intellectually since the hospitals inception. This is in keeping with public mandate and the hospitals core values of “delivering any health care services necessary to help the people of Whidbey Island stay healthy”.                                                                    

In 1981 Whidbey General Hospital took over the administration of the existing privately owned "for profit" ambulance service along with it’s 8 employees. WGH Emergency Medical Services has been the sole state licensed transporting agency and primary emergency pre-hospital medical care provider for Whidbey Island ever since. Today WGH EMS, employs 38 regularly scheduled EMT’s and Paramedics.These highly trained and dedicated professionals staff 6 full time ambulances 24hrs. a day, 365 days a year. The ambulances all carry state of the art, advanced emergency medical equipment, heart monitor /defibrillators, and over 36 different emergency drugs. 

The ambulance service on Whidbey Island is supported by an EMS tax levy and is centrally administered through Whidbey General Hospital's EMS dept. Having a hospital based EMS system essentially allows all the ambulances to function as an extension of Whidbey General Hospitals’ emergency department, as opposed to being run as a for profit private buisness. This helps to ensure high standards of care and service.  It also provides for the centralized control, management, and oversight of the Islands ambulance service. WGH Emergency Medical Services system ensures for the efficient, coordinated and seamless delivery of emergency medical care for everyone on Whidbey Island long before you arrive at the emergency room.