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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7079 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7079 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council December 12, 1985 ,a 73 Subject: RECOMMENDATION ON AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE BACKGROUND On July 23, 1985 (M&C C-9153) , the City Council voted not to renew the current ambulance contract and authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with The Fourth Party, Inc. to develop a strategy for competitively selecting an ambulance operator, effective April 1 , 1985. The consultants recommended the implementation of a Failsafe Franchise Model (FFM) ambulance system that would provide sufficient safeguards to assure that there will be a minimum disruption of service in the event of a contractor's default. The City Council approved a procurement budget of $150,000 on August 13, 1985 and authorized the EMS Committee to oversee the process . The bid process involved two phases. The fi-rst phase required the submission of credentials. Those firms meeting the minimum standard were then certified to submit formal proposals . The second phase involved the actual submission of proposals. Since the rate and subsidy were established, the only variable the bidders had to address was the quality of service. During Phase 1 , twenty-six firms requested the credential package. Six firms submitted credentials by the October 8, 1985 deadline. Four of the firms were approved either conditionally or unconditionally and two of the firms were denied certification. The latter firms appealed their denial and after submission of additional information, one of the firms received certification. That firm, along with two of the four that had been certified earlier, later withdrew from the competition. The two remaining firms that submitted proposals on December 5, 1985 were Shepard Ambulance and the joint venture of Hartson and Mercy Ambulance Services. EVALUATION OF BIDS The Bid Evaluation Committee consisted of the following members: Dr. James Tryon Director of Emergency Medicine John Peter Smith Hospital Mr. John Perkins President of Gold Cross Ambulance Rochester, Minnesota Mr. Larry McMillen Fire Chief City of Fort Worth Ils. Ruth Ann McKinney Assistant City Manager City of Fort Worth Mr. Bob Terrell Assistant City Manager City of Fort Worth ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7079-p.2 W To the Mayor and Members of the City Council December 12, 1985 L Y, Subject: RECOMMENDATION ON AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE Each evaluator received copies of the proposals and instructions on scoring. Eleven categories were evaluated and the total possible points was 130. The committee met on December 10, 1985 to score the proposals. Each evaluator worked independently and the scores were not revealed until after each category had been discussed. The Fourth Party consultant was available to answer questions and provide clarification in certain areas, but did not participate in the scoring. Since there were five evaluators , the total number of points possible was 650 (5xl30) . Hartson and Mercy received 638 and Shepard received 558. SYSTEMS IMPROVEMENTS 1) Minimum of 20 fully equipped vehicles in the system, i .e, roughly double the current fleet size, and an ongoing policy of maintaining 1 /3 more vehicles than peak load requirements. 2) The current system requires one credential for paramedics - state certification. The new system will require four additional credientials - Basic Cardiac Life Support Instructor, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support, and National opl- Registry. Additionally, more advanced procedures will be phased in as required by the EPAB. 3) The new system will provide 2 to 3 paramedic-trained dispatchers at all times, compared to the current one E1117-trained dispatcher. Paramedic dispatching will also reduce the unnecessary use of the Fire Department First Responder Program. 4) Extensive use of state of the art telephone protocols and pre-arrival instructions given to the caller. 5) Paid in-service training that will allow field personnel to meet both state and national requirements. 6) An automated maintenance program. (The new maintenance manager is formerly an aircraft turbine specialist with aircraft electronics training and 5 years of experience as Assistant Maintenance Manager for Hartson and Mercy.) 7) Tom Morgan, a general partner of Hartson and chairman of the American Ambulance Association Accreditation Committee will relocate to Fort 0orth to manage the new system, heading a highly qualified management team. 8) Major improvements that include a medical communications system. Opp", -ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS WIFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7079-p.3 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council December 12, 1985 axA Subject: RECOHMENDATION ON AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE 071 9) 100% paramedic service on all non-emergency calls. 10) A subscription program which allows each household to limit out-of-pocket expenses to $55 per year regardless of frequency of ambulance service use. 11 ) The new contractor will accept assignment on all Medicare patients and routinely file insurance claims for all patients. 12) A two minute reduction in life threatening emergency response time standards. 13) Financial penalties for all runs in - which response time exceeds the allowed limits. 14) Fully-funded independent medical control with a paid medical di rector. 15) Improved compensation, benefits and working conditions for the local work force. 16) No increase in City subs-idy, and the opportunity to reduce the subsidy by up to $250,000 per year. 17) Community safeguards such as the Accounts Receivable Trust, three-way lease, City ownership of the medical communications system and ambulance facility, "lame duck" provisions , and other safeguards not present in the current system. 18) A City Council appointed ambulance authority to oversee the administrative aspects of the system. AMBULANCE AUTHORITY REVIEW The Interim Ambulance Authority met on December 11 , 1985 to review the results of the Bid Evaluation Committee. Based on the scores received by the two firms, the Authority voted to recommend to the City Council awarding the ambulance contract to the joint venture of Hartson and flercy Ambulance Services. A report will be made to the City Council during the Pre-Council meeting on December 12, 1985. If additional information is required, it will he supplied upon request. Douglas Harman City Fianager -ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS