Colorado Springs AMR contract up

Sounds like they do not have to worry about FD taking over EMS, if they can barely afford what they currently have.
 
Mayor being swindelled by the local IAFF with promises of 'efficiency' and 'we're already there, why not?', nothing new. Fine, you question sending a fire truck AND ambulance to each call? Quit sending the truck. See the call volume for FD drop, THEN see FD struggle to justify their bloated budget.
 
Colorado Springs is AMRs home turf, it will be interesting to see their bids.
 
The city wants AMR to pay a 2 million dollar "franchising fee" to offset the costs of FD medical operations. I have never heard of this happening anywhere else, usually the city pays the ambulance operation in the areas I am more familiar with.

Most of the Fire members I know do not see themselves taking over transport anytime soon. It's a city of 600k, to start from practically nothing in terms of city run transport is quite an undertaking.

Other FD takeovers in major cities have generally been the result of EMS departments being "merged" into fire, for them the cost outlay is much lower considering that the equipment already exists and the EMS crews are already city employees.
 
Tigger said:
The city wants AMR to pay a 2 million dollar "franchising fee" to offset the costs of FD medical operations. I have never heard of this happening anywhere else, usually the city pays the ambulance operation in the areas I am more familiar with.

Most of the Fire members I know do not see themselves taking over transport anytime soon. It's a city of 600k, to start from practically nothing in terms of city run transport is quite an undertaking.

Other FD takeovers in major cities have generally been the result of EMS departments being "merged" into fire, for them the cost outlay is much lower considering that the equipment already exists and the EMS crews are already city employees.
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This will be a very interesting story to follow, as well as Las Vegas. I'm curious about this franchise fee and am wondering if there is anywhere I can read more about it.
 
I just checked both of those articles out. How can the mayor be this easily influenced? Does the city/county not have the right to voice their opinions on such a change? Why can't fire-based EMS just go away instead of SLOWLY and pathetically trying hard not to seem irrelevant?
 
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Addrobo said:
I just checked both of those articles out. How can the mayor be this easily influenced? Does the city/county not have the right to voice their opinions on such a change? Why can't fire-based EMS just go away instead of SLOWLY and pathetically trying hard not to seem irrelevant?
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He isn't. C Springs Fire is not pushing hard to take over transport. There are some murmurings maybe, but the Fire Chief has made no statement in either direction. The former fire chief quoted had a much better opportunity to takeover transport but chose not.

The mayor is pretty ruthless when it comes to cost cutting measures. How he sees this as one I just do not know, but he looks for saving everywhere, at the expense of providing services. Granted things here have gotten a lot better in the last two years, but comparatively, so has the overall economy.

I have no issue with how the city currently runs EMS. It could be done in a more cost effective way, but as it stands now the EMS arrangement provides a high level of service.

The common argument is to stop sending the ALS engine. That might work downtown, but Colorado Springs by land area is massive. AMR posts its trucks where the call volume is heaviest (SSM). A call out in the more sprawling areas of the city (northern) means that it can take a long time for the ambulance to show up, but the fire crew will be there quickly. We have a significant wildland interface problem as well as excellent insurance rates, so these engine companies that only do 1000 runs a year or whatever are considered needed by the city, and they are not going away. But to think that an ambulance will arrive in these areas inside of three minutes is not realistic.
 
my current division pays a franchise fee much higher than the 2.4 million (about 10 fold) they stated in the article. AMR will pay it if they will still make money. additionally I was under the impression that the ESA actually owned about 1/2 of the ambulances AMR uses there, which they bought with grand money.
 
socalmedic said:
my current division pays a franchise fee much higher than the 2.4 million (about 10 fold) they stated in the article. AMR will pay it if they will still make money. additionally I was under the impression that the ESA actually owned about 1/2 of the ambulances AMR uses there, which they bought with grand money.
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I don't think the ESA actually owns any equipment as far as I can tell. The AMR proposal from 2009 (the last contract) has a section for the provision of new ambulances.

Every ambulance in the operation has "Dedicated to El Paso County" on it, as well as the ESA seal. The safety concept Type IIIs that AMR provided for the last contract are not dedicated only to 911 work, they take ALS transfers just like the other ambulances. All the ambulances are equipped the same, and all are run P/B. Some of the outlying fire districts provide an FF/EMT and AMR provides a medic. AMR also owns and services these fire district ambulances, however they are dedicated only to the fire district and not the county as a whole. They also staff two trucks that respond only to calls at the Air Force Academy.

Contract documents can be found here.
 
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