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In this work a parameter optimization method is applied to determine the best values of damping and stiffness properties which will minimize the magnitude of the vertical acceleration of the ambulance stretcher. Thus, an 8-DOF vehicle dynamic model was developed to be used for the parameter optimization method. Subsequently, the results obtained by the model were compared to a full vehicle multi-body model of Carsim software. Damping and stiffness properties, which are obtained by a parameter optimization method, contribute to reducing the magnitude of the vertical acceleration of the ambulance stretcher. The approach developed in this study provides sources for designing a mechanism to reduce the vertical acceleration to which the patient is exposed during transportation in an ambulance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]