3 ambulance businesses submit bids for EMS pact

10/25/2005

MONROE - Three companies submitted bids yesterday to secure Monroe County's ambulance business, including a firm formed a week ago and headed by the county's only hospital.

The bids, received by the Monroe County Emergency Medical Authority, were submitted by:

●Monroe County Ambulance.

●American Medical Response of Greenwood Village, Colo.

●MedCorp Inc. of Toledo.

Monroe County Ambulance is a partnership among Mercy Memorial Hospital System of Monroe; ProMedica Medical Transportation Network and Mercy Health Partners' LifeStar Ambulance, both of Toledo, and Huron Valley Ambulance of Ann Arbor.

The county's ambulance service has been in disarray since

Hart Medical EMS quit its contract in April.

Hart, citing financial difficulties, was awarded a three-year contract in November, 2003, replacing AMR.

After Hart dropped out, AMR and ProMedica were given temporary contracts to handle the county's ambulance service while the bid proposal, viewed by many as flawed, was revamped by the medical authority.

AMR gave up its temporary contract this summer and was replaced by HVA.

Meanwhile, Dan Wakeman, Mercy Memorial Hospital's president, became frustrated with the instability of the ambulance service, and spearheaded the formation of the new company. That company joined three rivals that had been expected to submit individual bids.

Mercy Memorial is an investor in the new company, which will disband if it does not secure the contract, while HVA has assumed management responsibilities, Mr. Wakeman said.

Disputes and differences among authority members over protocol and other issues throughout the year have further complicated matters and added to the authority's problems.

The new ambulance service provider will be chosen based on a point system devised by the authority.

All three bidders passed the first test yesterday by submitting their proposals on time with the correct number of copies along with a $2,500 bid performance check, Michael Demski, the authority's chairman, said.

Authority members were instructed by Mr. Demski to spend a week reviewing the bids to make sure other preliminary qualifications have been met. Any grounds for disqualification should be brought to the attention of the full authority at a special meeting, he said.

The authority previously scheduled meetings on Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 for presentations by bidders.

But Vickie Koczman, the authority's secretary, said last night that with only three bidders, the authority likely will handle all the presentations at one sitting, probably on Nov. 16.

Mr. Demski said he expected a bid from Community ES, of Southfield, Mich., but the company declined to submit a proposal. "I'm surprised they're not here," he said.

The four-year contract will be awarded Nov. 30.

Contact George Tanber at:

gtanber@theblade.com

or 734-241-3610.