Leslie Turk

Daily's Richter headed to Acadian Ambulance

by Leslie Turk

The INDsider has confirmed — thanks to an anonymous reader’s comment — that Daily Advertiser Executive Editor Denise Richter will be joining Acadian Ambulance in Austin. The INDsider first reported Richter’s departure from the local newspaper Wednesday, though it was unclear at the time what she would be doing in the Austin area. The Ambulance service company and local daily have long shared a cozy relationship.

Richter did not respond to an e-mail inquiry from The INDsider Wednesday and could not be reached by phone at the paper today, her last day with the Lafayette publication. A tip from a reader, “Who Cares,” prompted the followup: “Not sure why you just didn’t go ahead and print what everyone at The Advertiser knows. She’s going to work for Acadian Ambulance in Austin.”

Acadian confirmed the new hire today: “Acadian Ambulance Vice President Christopher Cirillo has confirmed and says that the company is pleased that Denise Richter has accepted a full-time leadership position, effective February 1, to coordinate corporate and media communications for the firm in Texas,” Acadian spokesman Keith Simon wrote in an e-mail to The INDsider this morning.

Lafayette-based Acadian, an aggressive company known to use its political sway to expand into new territories, is the nation’s largest privately held medical transportation company. It began operating in Texas in 2006 as a 911 ambulance service in Jefferson and Orange counties and expanded to Austin in 2007. On Dec. 30, 2008, it began operations in the San Antonio area following the acquisition of Southwest EMS.

Richter, who came to Lafayette in August 2005, has been with the Gannett Company, which owns The Daily Advertiser and Daily World, for almost two decades.