Battle Buddy Mobility Transport x Freedom Motors

Battle Creek local and first responder Kevin Hedrington noticed there was a lack of reliable and easily accessible non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) services in the Battle Creek area. When he returned from his deployment as an airport firefighter in the military, Hedrington got his paramedic license so he could continue his service as a firefighter and first responder. After serving the Battle Creek community for 12 years, he decided to step into the NEMT service by starting his own business, Battle Buddy Mobility Transport. Before founding Battle Buddy in January, Hedrington made it a priority to ask local nursing homes, hospitals, and other businesses about their NEMT needs. He wanted to make sure that Battle Buddy could fill in the gaps in NEMT services that he had noticed in the area while working as a paramedic. “The sky’s the limit,” Hedrington said. “We’re not really sure where this business will take us in the future but we know we have a very solid foundation and the community has been very supportive.” To start his business, Hedrington purchased four wheelchair accessible vehicles from Freedom Motors USA. He decided they were a perfect fit for his business because of their versatility and ease of use. battlebuddymobility.com ______ Vehicle Inventory - https://www.freedommotors.com/all-veh... ______ Website: https://www.freedommotors.com​​​​ Or Call: (800) 625-6335 ______ Instagram -   / freedom_motorsusa   Facebook -   / freedommotorsusa   Twitter -   / freedommotorinc​​​​   TikTok -   / freedommotorsusa   ______ #BattleBuddyMobilityTransport #FreedomMotors ______ Kevin: My name is Kevin, I’m with Battle Buddy Mobility Transport. We started Battle Buddy Mobility Transport in January of 2022. As a non-emergency medical transport company here in Battle Creek, Michigan. So I’ve been a paramedic in the State of Michigan, in the local community for the last 12 years. So I’ve seen over the years that there’s an increased need for mobility transport for our aging population and the at-risk population. I was awarded a service animal for some things from the military, back in October of last year. And she’s been my battle buddy, so that’s how we came up with the name of battle buddy mobility transport. So, in the military, both army and marine corp primarily, where I came from is the marine corp, a battle buddy is someone that always comes with you whether it’s in a combat situation or just off base. You can trust them, you can rely on them for anything, and she’s been that for me. So we plan on serving, or hope to serve the Battle Creek community by providing reliable mobility services 24/7 for nursing homes, hospitals, and just the general public. I joined the marine core in July of 2001. I signed up as a airport firefighter, went through fire academy, I ended up getting out of the military as a firefighter EMT in June of 2009 after combat deployments and things like that. Decided I was going to move back home to be near family, and wanted to become, or continue my service as a firefighter, so in order to be a full time firefighter you typically have to have either an EMT or a paramedic license, so that’s where I moved into the medical field within the fire service. I got my paramedic license and have stayed in Battle Creek ever since. Question: What was the next step once you knew you wanted to do this as a company? Kevin: It was a lot of research, just kind of internal searching and making sure that this was something my family, my wife and I wanted to do and that she was going to be on board with it. So it’s been a lot of support. But yeah, the sky's the limit. We’re not really sure where this will take us in the future but we know we have a very good foundation and the community’s been very supportive so far. Question: What led you to Freedom Motors and our vehicles? Kevin: I’ve seen vehicles coming around town and things like that. And through some of my research online, I’ve seen some Freedom Motors configurations and I’ve seen some of your competitors, the fact that you guys are local - five miles down the road. You guys seen me the same day, walked me around your warehouse, showed me videos, showed me all of the tricks and tools of your trade, really helped me with my research and my decision to go with you guys. Question: Was there anything about our vehicles that appealed to you? Kevin: The simplicity, they are very simple. They have what we here at Battle Buddy are looking for. We don’t want to have the lifts that raise and lower, the heavy mechanics and things like that- that are prone to break down at the absolute worst time. The ramps are very simple for my employees and for myself, whether it’s an automatic ramp or a manual ramp, manual ramps are very easy to raise and lower, and it’s just the overall ease in the customer service we’ve gotten so far.