Valley Fire District Wants Ambulance Contract

For years, they’ve operated with an gentlemen’s agreement. Now, Valley fire officials say they want more than a handshake to ensure quality ambulance service.

Within the next few months, Spokane Valley Fire District hopes to choose an official ambulance service provider and ink a contract.

“The ambulance companies have been trying to get contracts for years,” said Larry Herberholz, district division chief. “We’ve been the holdout.”

For years, fire officials believed - incorrectly - that they couldn’t legally enter into such a contract. They had developed a good working relationship with American Medical Response (AMR), formerly known as Spokane Ambulance, so they didn’t worry about it.

But times have changed. When Valley Fire Chief Pat Humphries took over a few years back, he wanted more security - something binding. Spokane Ambulance had become part of AMR, the nation’s second largest medical transportation company. Earlier this year, it was bought by Laidlaw Transit, the nation’s largest medical transportation company.

Now that AMR is part of a large national conglomerate, fire officials feel less secure about their informal way of doing business, Herberholz said.

At the same time, a new ambulance company has entered the scene, causing some concern and confusion, fire commissioners said. Medco, which is based in the Valley, currently is not licensed to deal with trauma cases. It can transport patients with less serious medical problems, but must wait for private citizens to request its service.

Medco has applied for the highest level of trauma verification from the state Department of Health, and if approved, could compete with AMR for all types of transports.

This concerns some fire commissioners, who are afraid of “ambulance wars.” For the last several years, only one ambulance company has operated in the Valley.

“I’m a free enterprise person,” said Fire Commissioner Tom Gregory, “But do you take a risk having too many fingers in this pie?”

Creating a contract would force fire officials to deal with these issues and decide how - and if - they will be willing to work with more than one ambulance service.

A contract would also give fire officials the opportunity to put their demands in writing, Herberholz said. This would protect the fire district in case current good relations break down.

As part of the contract, the district will ask that only large box-type ambulances be used in the Valley. These ambulances can accommodate two patients and two medics. It plans to set its own response time requirements. It also wants to make sure the ambulances have 911 painted on them in large numbers.

Humphries has been concerned that Medco ambulances have the company’s private phone number in large numerals on the sides of the vehicles. It’s harder to see 911, which is printed on the back of the vans in smaller numerals.

If patients start calling ambulance companies directly, Herberholz said, it could weaken the 911 system, which county residents have paid to create. It could also endanger residents, who may call a company that isn’t qualified for critical injuries, he said.

For its part, Medco says it agrees.

“In a life-and-death emergency, people should call 911,” said Jerry Osborn, Medco’s director of operations. “But Medco also believes people have the right to choose (an ambulance company).”

Medco, which operates five ambulances throughout the county, hopes state health officials will approve its application for advanced trauma verification so it can compete for the Valley Fire District contract. Osborn said he could get an answer as soon as this week.

, DataTimes