Madison Hospital on Wednesday announced the launch of a new state-of-the-art acute care transport ambulance designed to rapidly move critically ill patients to advanced specialty care and surprised Madison County Commission Chairman Mac McCutcheon by naming the unit in his honor.
Hospital President Mary Lynne Wright unveiled the Madison Hospital Acute Care Transport Program during a gathering of hospital leaders, county officials, donors and staff, calling the new unit a critical investment for a fast-growing community that now sees more than 50,000 emergency department visits each year.
“By introducing this program, what we’ve done is create basically an ICU on wheels,” Wright said. “It will allow us to take patients from our emergency room or ICU and get them to the next level of care as quickly and safely as possible.”
Moments later, Wright announced that the ambulance would be named MAC-1, drawing audible reaction from the crowd and visibly surprising McCutcheon, who serves on the Madison Hospital board and played a key role in securing funding for the unit through Madison County Commission American Rescue Plan Act allocations.
“From this day forward, our Madison Hospital acute care transport truck will be named the MAC-1,” Wright said. “When you see this vehicle on the road, think of what Mac McCutcheon has done for this community.”
McCutcheon, who is set to retire from public service later this year, said he was unprepared for the recognition.
“I never saw this coming at all,” McCutcheon said. “This is very, very special.”
The dedicated transport unit will be stationed at Madison Hospital and staffed by hospital-based emergency and critical care clinicians, allowing ICU-level treatment to continue uninterrupted during transport to Huntsville Hospital for services not available locally, including stroke intervention, cardiac catheterization and advanced trauma care.
Wright said the unit will also ease pressure on countywide emergency services by handling hospital-to-hospital transports internally.
“We learned during COVID just how critical timely transport and system readiness can be,” Wright said. “This is another investment to make sure we are prepared for whatever the future brings.”
The ambulance itself was built in the city of Madison, a detail hospital leaders highlighted as especially meaningful. Officials said the project reflects a full-circle investment, with local funding supporting a locally built, state-of-the-art unit built by Excellence Inc. that will serve patients across Madison County and North Alabama.
McCutcheon later shared a personal story underscoring the importance of rapid access to advanced care. In 2014, he was treated at Madison Hospital for what initially appeared to be a minor cardiac issue. Continued testing by hospital staff revealed a serious condition that required immediate transfer to Huntsville Hospital, where he underwent open-heart surgery.
“I stand here as one of those patients who needed regional-level care,” McCutcheon said. “To see this come full circle today is incredibly meaningful. This unit will save lives. I have no doubt about that.”
Huntsville Hospital Health System CEO Jeff Samz said MAC-1 reflects the system’s broader mission to keep care local while ensuring fast access to higher-level services when needed.
“There’s no better example of what our health system is about than MAC-1 coming down the road to get someone the care they need,” Samz said. “It connects community hospitals to advanced care in the moments that matter most.”
The ambulance was built by a Madison-based manufacturer and outfitted with advanced medical equipment funded through philanthropy. Major contributors include the Alpha Foundation, Bentley Buick GMC, Robins and Morton, the Jurinko Foundation, Regions Bank, and Cheryl and Pat Thomason.
MAC-1 is scheduled to officially go into service Jan. 16, 2026, strengthening emergency care access for Madison and surrounding communities.
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