Our History

Working out of a file box on their dining room table in 1986, a young paramedic and his wife started a transportation company that would eventually become one of Louisiana’s most well-known and respected ambulance service providers, MedExpress Ambulance Service. The couple, Mark and Ginger Majors, would struggle over the years to break into new markets, working tirelessly to convince elected officials to give their small company an opportunity to provide quality emergency medical service to their residents. Time and again, their efforts paid off, as MedExpress continued an aggressive expansion in Louisiana and Mississippi. In 2001 MedExpress was awarded a major contract by the U.S. government to provide emergency and non-emergency services to military personnel and their families at Louisiana’s FortPolk military base. Today MedExpress operates an ambulance service in Five Louisiana parishes—Rapides, Sabine, Grant, St. Landry, Vernon,—but has diversified from its core ambulance business.

In 2002, an aggressive effort began to redefine the purpose and mission of MedExpress Ambulance Service. Structured and continuous investments in personal professional development for all staff employees began, with special emphasis on all leadership positions. Highly qualified key employees were sought out and recruited to complement the resident staff to diversify the business activities of MedExpress. Now known as MedExpress Companies, the entity generates business from multiple revenue streams from a new, state-of-the-art headquarters in Alexandria, La.The 12,600-square-foot facility has four miles of cable running through the building; a 50KW generator that provides continuous, uninterrupted power; a new weather satellite from the National Weather Service; and computer aided dispatch from Zoll Data Systems (directly integrated with the billing system). All administrative functions of MedExpress Companies are directed from this location, which was completed in 2003. This facility also houses MedComm, a call taking communications and dispatch center, and the Central Louisiana American Red Cross Dispatch Operations.The facility houses most of the corporate entities that fall under the MedExpress Companies banner, including:

• MedTrans, a para-transit service that utilizes full-sized vans retrofitted with lifts to allow for comfortable transport of those confined to a wheelchair.
• CenLa Professional Development Center LLC and Spectrum Products & Technology, LLC, both launched at the beginning of 2004. CenLa provides continuing education and advanced training to fire, EMS, law enforcement, health care, and other professions.
• Spectrum Products and Technology LLC, offering Segway HTs and accessories, mobility devices, a MedCall personal alert system, MedTime automated medication dispensers, Littman stethoscopes, AEDs, and gift items for public safety and health care professionals and supplies for medical professionals.
• Guardian EMS LLC, launched in July 2004 in the Metro New Orleans area.
• MedStaff Inc., incorporated in 2004 to provide professional medical staffing in the international and industrial marketplace. This division offers clinical staffing in Iraq, disaster response assessment and reaction teams and qualified medical professionals in industrial settings. MedStaff represents one of the fastest-growing members of the MedExpress Companies family.

Personal History

Mark Majors grew up in Melville, La., a rural St. Landry Parish community. He earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from UL Lafayette in 1981 and pursued graduate studies at LSU from 1983 to 1984. In February 2003, he completed a Mini-Masters in an International Management and Marketing program at St. Thomas University in Minneapolis, Minn. (Unbeknownst to Mark, the timing of the course would be perfect for the kind of international work he would under take later in the year.)

Mark began working in emergency medical services in 1977; in 2002 the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians recognized him for achieving 20 consecutive years as a registered EMT- Paramedic. He has spent much of his career instructing courses for the American Heart Association and National Safety Council and holds membership in numerous professional associations, serving as president of the Louisiana Rural Ambulance Alliance in 2004.

Mark Majors defines not only entrepreneurial spirit but also the spirit of his chosen profession. When he learned of the Sept. 11 attacks on the WorldTradeCenter, he immediately assembled a medical relief team and within three days the four members were on the road, driving 28 hours straight to volunteer at Ground Zero. They were the first team from Louisiana to respond.

International Operations

MedRelief, MedExpress’ non-profit corporation, provides humanitarian aid as part of its evangelical outreach to people across the globe.More recently, it has been the war-torn area of Iraq that is benefiting from MedExpress Companies’ international expertise. In late 2003—at a time when political unrest and violence were at their peak—Mark was on a plane to Baghdad, and the result of that initial trip was the construction of a medical clinic at the Baghdad International Airport. Today, critical care certified paramedics provide expanded scope of practice treatment and procedures for the employees of contractors working in Iraq. Utilizing the latest developments in telemedicine allows oversight and medical control by a U.S. physician. A consummate entrepreneur, Mark continues to pursue an array of additional opportunities in Iraq. Through its sister company MedStaff, MedExpress now operates two Urgent Care Clinics on U.S. Military bases in Iraq and in July of 2005 began the process of constructing six more. Paramedics who staff the clinics are trained to provide emergent care to U.S. Military as well as support personnel. In addition to providing quality care to individuals on the base, MedExpress’ staff has been contracted by several international companies to provide health screenings and vaccinations to employees of private companies assisting in the reconstruction of Iraq.