AMR Awarded Controversial Contract in California

STOCKTON -- San Joaquin County supervisors on Tuesday selected American Medical Response to become the area's sole 911 ambulance provider, giving the Stockton Fire Department and other private companies until May 1 to fold their own emergency operations.

The board voted 4-1 after a daylong hearing to negotiate with AMR on contracts in the greater Lodi, Stockton and Tracy areas that could be worth as much as $ 300 million during the next decade. The decision followed more than six hours of testimony from dozens of people with a stake in the contract: top fire officials, executives, lawyers and myriad paramedics and emergency medical technicians from the three firms in the running.

The jilted companies -- the partnership of Stockton Fire and Rural/Metro of California as well as Priority One -- argued the selection process was unfair and accused AMR of exaggerating service response times and costs, using outdated equipment and underpaying its employees. AMR refuted those claims.

Some also accused the county of hiding documents related to a panel's recommendation last month that the contracts go to AMR.

AMR's selection could still be legally challenged by the other firms. No plans to file a lawsuit were announced Tuesday.

Ambulance companies currently work under an open market system in San Joaquin County, but the competition has led to turf wars and slow response times in recent years. County officials decided in 2003 to divide the area into three zones -- Stockton, Lodi and Tracy -- and award exclusive contracts for each.

Companies that bid on the contracts were required to meet minimum time standards, provide new equipment and meet other county standards. AMR's proposal, according to the county, offered less expensive rates and faster response times for urban, suburban and rural areas.

Ren Nosky, Stockton's city attorney, said after the meeting he was disappointed and felt "the procedure was not conducted properly."

"There's no written record of what the committee did," he said.

Ken Cohen, the county's Health Care Services director, said there was no requirement to keep detailed notes of the selection process by individual members on the committee. One document describing the procedures used to rank each firm will be produced by the county under the California Public Records Act, he said.

Mike Parker, Priority One's president, said after the meeting that he was insulted by Cohen's statement that his firm wasn't a viable option for service in Tracy and Lodi. Parker also questioned why the document, described as a "scoring sheet" by Cohen, was not mentioned or made available before Tuesday afternoon.

The board chambers on the seventh floor of the County Courthouse was packed beyond its 85-person capacity, and an additional 40 people had to wait in the lobby. Paramedics and EMTs from all three firms asked supervisors to save their jobs, with some taking swipes at the performance of those from other companies.

Competing companies argued Tuesday the standards proposed by AMR are impossible to reach. Rural/Metro President Robert Heffner told the board that AMR's plan to have 13 active emergency ambulances in Stockton is not enough to respond to 90 percent of urban calls within 71/2 minutes.

"There is no way conceivable that you could meet those response times," Heffner said. "But guess what? It's easier to pay the fine."

Lou Meyer, AMR's top executive in the region, said the company will be able to dispatch additional nonemergency ambulances during times where extra service is needed. He also said the company would be able to activate as many as 50 ambulances and 400 employees in the event of a disaster in the area because of its services in neighboring counties.

"I would not have insulted the board by not following through with the contract we proposed," Meyer said.