New Emergency-Ambulance Service Is Here

AmeriCare Ambulance Service has officially taken over as Santa Monica's new emergency-ambulance service. The company started responding to calls on Aug. 8 at midnight.

While the responds to emergency 911 calls and provides related paramedic services, the emergency-ambulance service actually transports the patient to the hospital. According to the SMFD, it responds to approximately 40 emergency calls each day; 83 percent of them are related to medical emergencies.

Since 2004, Gerber Ambulance Service had provided the SMFD with contracted ambulance and billing services for emergencies handled by the department's paramedics unit, which includes six trucks and four ambulances.

But that changed after the , at its July 26 meeting, unanimously authorized a three-year contract for the Carson, Calif.-based AmeriCare. The contract also includes billing services.

The bidding process involved seven other ambulance providers in Los Angeles County.

Six staff members from the fire and city-finance departments evaluated five proposals that pertained to ambulance services and three that related to billing. Only AmeriCare and one other company in the running offered to provide billing services at no cost, according to SMFD Captain and Paramedic Coordinator Mark Bridges' staff report.

The company was also "the only one committed to the purchase of property in Santa Monica on which to locate an ambulance station," the report said.

SMFD Chief said three criteria were considered in choosing the company for the contract: that the company be licensed and approved to operate in Los Angeles County; that it have at least three years' experience in providing 911 services; and that it have two consecutive years' experience providing primary provider transport in Los Angeles County.

He did, however, say that AmeriCare's business model was considered in the evaluation process.

"We narrowed it down to the three [companies] that matched the RFP criteria most closely, [then conducted] site visits [and] considered [their] business model," he said. "We felt that they were the best agency to serve the community of Santa Monica."

AmeriCare has 200 employees and 10 stations located from Lancaster to the San Diego border. The company also provides service to Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego Counties.

Ferguson—who took part in the site visits and staff interviews—also said that AmeriCare's "level of professionalism" and "attention to detail" were "exceptional," causing that company to stand out among its competitors.

"We appreciate the seven years of experience that Gerber has given us," Ferguson added.

Instead of receiving full, direct payments from the city of Santa Monica, AmeriCare Ambulance will be paid based on a share of the fees collected by the patients who are transported. Bridges tells Santa Monica Patch that the SMFD receives revenue from the patients, billed by the ambulance company.

"They collect the payment, keep their share for transporting and sent us our share for procedures, advanced life support measures taken, etc.," he said. "That money goes into the city’s general funds, which helps fund our paramedics, equipment, etc.

The SMFD projects revenue for services to be $1,259,911 for the 2011-'12 fiscal year, and $1,291,409 for the subsequent fiscal year, according to Bridges.