3 weeks ago
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MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Merced County Board of Supervisors approved a caller declaration with AMS for ambulance services.
Riggs Ambulance Service is presently the lone EMS supplier successful the county. Members of the institution spoke up successful enactment of their leader during a committee gathering connected Tuesday.
"Our spot lies not conscionable successful what we do, but successful however we bash it with integrity, empathy, and genuine transportation to the radical that we serve. Because we are portion of this community, not conscionable employed here. In contrast, I've some witnessed and received troubling feedback from patients and assemblage members regarding the services provided by AMR, and their concerns see unfamiliarity with section geography, often starring to delays and miscommunication, and misrouting," 1 Riggs worker said.
"Make nary mistake, Merced County is conscionable a marketplace AMR. Do you deliberation their shareholders volition tolerate a nonaccomplishment arsenic a for-profit corporation?" asked different attendee.
But others astatine the committee gathering expressed enactment for the displacement successful providers.
"I privation to admit and respect the 77 years of dedicated work that Riggs Ambulance has provided to Merced County. Our vexation has ne'er been with the employees of Riggs. They've served this assemblage with professionalism and heart. But with the lack of enactment erstwhile it mattered most," said Chief Casey Wilson with the Merced Fire Department.
"I americium successful enactment of the AMR contract. We, since my accomplishment successful Los Banos, person seen utmost delays, immoderate issues with transport decisions that we had to marque owed to the deficiency of an ambulance," said Chief Paul Tualla with the Los Banos City Fire Department.
Merced County Public Health Director Kristynn Sullivan cited dilatory effect times as portion of the crushed for issuing a Request For Proposals (RFP).
"The region went retired to bid straight successful effect to census mediocre show sustained for aggregate years,” she said.
Although they struggled with staffing during COVID-19, Riggs believes they solved the contented by awarding scholarships to section students and hiring them close aft graduation.
Merced County Supervisor Josh Pedrozo said Riggs had slow effect times adjacent earlier the pandemic.
"The statement of the compliance contented based connected COVID truly doesn't make, is it doesn't clasp up. Because of their compliance issues happened earlier the pandemic happened, is what I'm saying," helium said.
Riggs protested the RFP process and argued that a subordinate of the instrumentality steadfast starring the bidding utilized to enactment for AMR.
"By submitting a bid for this RFP, SEMSA agreed that immoderate previous connections of Fitch and Associates was not a struggle of interest," Sullivan said. "And the information that they are resorting to claiming that present reflects connected however anemic their arguments are."
Ultimately, supervisors denied the protest. The caller declaration with AMR is acceptable to statesman successful January.
