An emergency vehicle used for transporting patients to a health care facility after injury or illness. Types of ambulances used in the United States include ground (surface) ambulance, rotor-wing (helicopter), and fixed-wing aircraft (airplane). Source: Lexikon: Dictionary of Health Care Terms, Organizations and Acronyms for the Era of Reform, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois: 1994, p. 37.