The company behind Community Ambulance has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Dignity Health of pushing paramedics to route patients toward Dignity-connected hospitals rather than the nearest appropriate facility, and of concealing corporate changes that would have let the ambulance provider buy out its partner's ownership stake. Ambulance Management Group, LLC filed the breach of contract suit on August 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, naming Dignity Health, doing business as Saint Rose Dominican Hospitals, as the defendant.
The case, filed under case number 2:26-cv-02397, centers on a joint venture that has quietly grown into one of the state's largest ambulance operations. As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, AMG launched Community Ambulance Co. with Dignity Health in 2010 to serve underserved communities in Southern Nevada with dependable medical transport. Dignity Health was still operating under its prior name, Catholic Healthcare West, when the venture began; the company changed its name to Dignity Health in 2012, according to the same report.
At the heart of the complaint is an allegation that a Dignity Health executive issued a directive requiring patients at a special event to be transported to a Dignity Health facility regardless of proximity or the patient's own choice, per the lawsuit. AMG says it refused to follow the directive, arguing that doing so would endanger patients, violate the law, and jeopardize its licenses and contracts, according to court filings cited by the newspaper's report. The lawsuit also alleges that a Dignity Health executive attempted to direct patients to associate facilities even when they were not the closest hospitals, per court documents.
A Rule Built to Protect Patient Choice
That allegation runs directly against the operating rules that govern ambulance crews across the valley. Under protocols established by the Southern Nevada Health District, EMS personnel must transport medically stable patients to their hospital of choice, or to the nearest appropriate facility if no preference is expressed. Nevada regulations further mandate that licensed EMS agencies and attendants follow those district protocols, exposing providers to administrative penalties and license suspension if they fail to uphold the transport rules, per the state's health authorities.
AMG's complaint frames the alleged directive as profit-motivated and unlawful, arguing that Dignity Health moved away from a patient-oriented mission toward its balance sheet, according to court documents referenced in the Review-Journal's report. The company also says it inquired about a possible change of control back in 2012 and was lied to by company executives, per those same court filings. AMG says it tried to resolve the dispute without litigation before ultimately filing suit to protect its rights and patients' interests.
An Ownership Clause at the Center of the Dispute
The original operational agreement granted AMG the right to purchase Catholic Healthcare West's membership share if corporate control ever changed hands. AMG's lawsuit alleges Dignity Health concealed corporate control changes that would have triggered that buyout option, and it cites Dignity Health's restated articles of incorporation as evidence of a corporate-structure change, per the filing. That alleged concealment gains added context from Dignity Health's own corporate trajectory: in February 2019, Dignity Health completed a $29 billion merger with Catholic Health Initiatives to form CommonSpirit Health, a national non-profit system that grew to operate 142 hospitals across 21 states, according to CommonSpirit Health.
Community Ambulance itself has much humbler, hyper-local roots. It was co-founded in 2009 by former Henderson Fire Department paramedics Rob Richardson and Brian Rogers, who set out to build a locally managed emergency transport provider for Southern Nevada, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Since then, the joint venture has grown from three ambulances to more than 100, becoming one of only three licensed private ambulance franchisees in Clark County after commissioners approved a 10-year franchise renewal with Community Ambulance in January 2025.
Business as Usual, Company Says
Despite the legal fight, Community Ambulance says its daily operations are not at risk. A Community Ambulance spokesperson said the company must remain guided by community-based values, and the lawsuit itself states that it will not interrupt operations, staffing, or emergency responses in Southern Nevada. The company continues to serve as the primary medical standby provider for major regional gatherings, including the Electric Daisy Carnival, which draws more than 150,000 daily attendees, and it served as the on-site emergency medical provider during the October 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting.
The two companies' ties run deeper than ambulance dispatch. Community Ambulance co-owns and operates the Community Ambulance Health Science Center in Henderson jointly with Dignity Health to train EMTs and Advanced EMTs, according to the center's course catalog, meaning the ownership dispute touches paramedic education as well as patient transport. In Southern Nevada, Dignity Health operates three main acute care campuses, Saint Rose Dominican Siena, San Martin, and Rose de Lima, along with several standalone emergency centers, per Healthgrades.
Community Ambulance's physical footprint is also expanding regardless of the litigation. The company broke ground on a new hub in West Henderson in May, a 42,000-square-foot campus meant to consolidate dispatch, fleet maintenance, and training for its growing workforce. Dignity Health did not respond to a request for comment from the Review-Journal by publication time, leaving its side of the dispute unaddressed as the case moves through federal court.
