DATE: April 9, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Luchini, RN, PHN, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Retroactive Agreement with Air Methods
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive revenue Agreement with Air Methods for emergency air ambulance services within the boundaries of Fresno County and use of the County’s communication system infrastructure, effective April 1, 2024, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $46,744.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended agreement will continue emergency air ambulance services throughout the County and adjacent areas with no cost to the County. The recommended agreement will allow the Department of Public Health (Department) to offset costs associated with the use of the County’s communications system infrastructure by Air Methods. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, emergency air ambulance services would be provided through other contractors and/or agencies from another county, which may cause delays in critical incident response events. Additionally, the Department would be unable to offset costs associated with the use of the County’s communications system infrastructure by the emergency air ambulance services contractor.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended agreement is retroactive to April 1, 2024, as there were a number of changes requested to the standard contract language in the recommended agreement by Air Methods. County Counsel needed additional time to review all changes to determine which changes were allowable, increasing the amount of time needed to get this to your Board.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The recommended agreement will provide $46,744 to offset Department costs associated with use of the County’s EMS Communications Center for dispatch of Air Methods’ vehicles. Emergency air ambulance services are fully funded through a fee for services charged to ambulance users. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 5620 FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget and will be included in future budget requests for the duration of the term.
DISCUSSION:
California Emergency Medical Services Authority regulations require the Department to execute contracts with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers operating within its jurisdiction. The Fresno County EMS Communications Center is a regional dispatch center responsible for the management and dispatch of all ambulance requests in Fresno, Kings, and Madera Counties.
Approval of the recommended agreement will provide continued emergency air ambulance services throughout Fresno County and the adjacent counties. Air Methods is the only provider of emergency air ambulance services in the area on a non-exclusive basis; therefore, does not restrict the County from contracting with other providers for the same or similar services.
Additionally, the recommended agreement will allow the Department to offset costs associated with use of the County’s EMS Communications Center by Air Methods for dispatch of its resources.
The recommended agreement contains staffing and response requirements including level of certified personnel, equipment requirements, and dispatch coordination. Air Methods will routinely respond, upon the request of the Fresno County EMS Services Communications Center, to adjacent areas to provide mutual aid assistance.
Air Methods requested some deviations in the recommended agreement from the Example Service Agreement, including mutual indemnification, the insurance language, and other standard contract language. HR-Risk disagrees with including mutual indemnification. However, the Department believes that the risks are minimal, and finds it to be a prudent business decision to move forward with the recommended agreement. Having an air ambulance provider in the County strengthens the EMS system, reinforcing existing resources in the County to respond to medical emergencies. County Counsel has deemed all other requested changes acceptable.
The recommended agreement may be terminated by either party upon a 90-day advanced notice and satisfies the requirement under Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations for a written agreement with advanced life support provider agencies.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #39, March 12, 2019
BAI #37, March 28, 2017
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Air Methods
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander