Let the bidding begin.
Representatives from the City of Iola and American Medical Response (AMR) were on hand at Tuesday’s county commission meeting to begin making the case for why they should be Allen County’s ambulance provider.
American Medical Response, a nation-wide company that currently serves Linn County, provided commissioners four primary bids from which to select, but added that customization was also possible:
Option 1 (Staffing only): AMR will provide dedicated staffing for the county ($1,450,000).
Option 2 (Staffing and billing): AMR will provide dedicated staffing and will bill and collect for services ($590,000). Costs to the county are reduced from Option 1 as AMR will collect revenue from billing.
Option 3 (Full system solution): Utilizing Allen County units, AMR will provide an all-inclusive EMS solution ($1,200,000).
Option 4 (Full system solution): Utilizing AMR units, AMR will provide an all-inclusive EMS solution ($1,300,000).
The City of Iola provided two primary bids with three alternatives embedded in the first option. Their proposal also notes that “these proposals include HAZMAT and rescue service.”
Proposal 1: The City of Iola proposes to provide ambulance services for Allen County at a cost of $1.855 million per year. This cost includes four 2-person ambulance crews on shift 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, plus a fifth ambulance crew either on a full-time or part-time basis in order to facilitate taking two long-distance transfers simultaneously. The City proposes to provide five crews because of the belief that the County prefers to have two medical transfers performed at the same time. The City believes that one crew covering the entire County is insufficient coverage and this bid reflects an increase in staffing levels to provide adequate coverage.
Alternate Bid 1: The City will purchase future ambulance units for the bid amount of $1.98 million per year. This includes the City providing the purchase of future ambulance units but with the County continuing to provide billing service. This alternate requires the County to allow the City to utilize all current and on order County-owned units until the end of their service life.
Alternate Bid 2: The City prefers not to provide [contractor billing services]. However, if the County desires the City to provide billing services the proposal amount is $1.13 million per year.
Alternate Bid 3: The City will purchase future ambulance units for the bid amount of $1.26 million per year. This would include the City providing billing and purchasing of future ambulance units. This alternate would require the City to utilize all current and on order County-owned units until the end of their service life.
Proposal 2: The City proposes to continue providing the same level of service as specified in the current contract for $1.6 million per year. This includes uninterrupted service of countywide hazmat and rescue services by the City that are covered by the current contact.
As it’s still very early in the bidding process, no decisions have yet been made by commissioners on which bid/options to accept, and a decision is likely to come only after significant deliberation.
IN OTHER NEWS, Judge Daniel Creitz and clerk Dina Morrison discussed the court’s budget, as well as appeal to commissioners to consider a building expansion project in connection with the small courtroom.
