By Bill Carey
EMS1
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Santa Barbara County supervisors voted to take the county’s emergency services director out of the process for how the county’s ambulance service providers are selected and to allow the county to put the EMS contract out for non-exclusive bids.
A new non-exclusivity ordinance will allow competing providers to bid for one of three separate ambulance contracts, the Santa Barbara Independent reported.
One contract is for 911 calls, another for inter-facility transfers and one for critical care transport. All three are countywide, not to be divided into geographical sections.
“There was a lot of concern about the prospect of ambulance wars,” Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Chris Mailes, a former private ambulance EMT and paramedic said. “There will be no ambulance wars.”
AMR argued it was the only bidder with the resources and a proven track record to deliver faster response times at less cost. Mailes told the Santa Barbara Independent he expects AMR and the county fire department to submit bids for all three contracts.
Bids will be awarded this fall and the new service is expected to start in March 2024.