ConFire, AMR expected to bid for Contra Costa`s new ambulance contract
Feb. 27--Contra Costa's ambulance contract is up for grabs.
The contract for American Medical Response, which has served the county's emergency calls for decades, expires at the end of the year, and the bidding process to find a new ambulance provider opened Friday.
Contra Costa Fire District, the county's largest fire department, is expected to compete for the county contract, which designates an agency to respond to all 911 medical emergencies. Firefighters for the San Ramon Valley and Moraga-Orinda fire districts already provide emergency ambulance services in those areas. AMR also is expected to bid to keep servicing the county.
Bids for the new, five-year contract are due May 21, and the new contract would begin in 2016. The contract includes a five-year renewal option based on performance.
Bidders are asked to provide two different service models: one similar to the current model and another with ways to optimize services to match patient need.
County supervisors hired consultants to create the EMS Modernization Project Report in 2012 to make Contra Costa's system more efficient and reduce the chances the county would have to subsidize the ambulance provider.
The bidders must also show their capabilities, including response times, staffing and equipment requirements.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to choose a provider in July.
Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026. Follow him at Twitter.com/mgafni.
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