AMR urges county to allow contract amendment
Polk County commissioners heard three options Thursday, May 28, in negotiations with American Medical Response (AMR) over the current ambulance service contract.
Josh Spencer, AMR’s regional director, presented the proposals to the commission’s ambulance committee at the courthouse in Benton.
Spencer told the full commission the week before that AMR is “in a position we really need to negotiate.” The ambulance service contract with the county expires at the end of June and AMR is looking for concessions in the contract or an increased subsidy.
Spencer offered three options.
•Option A would be for a one-year renewal at the current subsidy of $720,000. However, an amendment to the contract would reduce the number of ambulances on duty at all times.
Currently, the contract requires two ambulances on each side of the county be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24/7).
Spencer asked that be reduced to two ambulances 24/7 and two additional ambulances 12 hours a day, seven days a week during the peak times of 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. The change would be on both the East and West sides.
Spencer said under current operations, AMR has 96 unit hours a day with only 16 hours being used. This results in 80 hours a day that AMR pays for in-service ambulances not being used.
Spencer called the change in reduced hours “a win-win option” for the county and AMR that would allow AMR to “sustain the operation as it is today.”
Jamie Nicholson, who oversees AMR in Polk County, explained how the service would be backed up by AMR ambulances from McMinn County and through the mutual aid agreement with Fannin County.
Both said the option would not adversely affect patient care.
•Option B presented by Spencer would be to continue to operate under the current contract – two 24/7 ambulances on both sides of the county – with a subsidy increase of between 25 and 30 percent. While Spencer did not present an exact figure, those percentages would represent an increase of between $180,000 and $216,000 to the county.
•Option C would be, if the county and AMR cannot work out an agreement to extend the current contract, for the county to rebid the ambulance service.
Spencer warned that any service bidding would look at the current call volume and contract terms. He said rebidding would mean the county would be looking at a much higher cost for the service.
Commissioners took no action on Spencer’s proposals.