Press Release

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For Release: Friday, January 28, 2005

Contra Costa Health Services announced today its recommendation to the County Board of Supervisors for selection of American Medical Response (AMR) to continue as the county's primary emergency ambulance provider. Under a competitive selection process established by the County Board of Supervisors, two companies, AMR and StarWest Ambulance, are competing for the emergency ambulance service contract to serve most areas of the County. The county's competitive process requires the Health Services Director, Dr. William B. Walker, to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, which has final authority on the selection. Both companies' proposals were reviewed by a 10-member review panel and received tie scores.

In announcing the department's recommendation, Walker cited AMR's long history of providing excellent service in Contra Costa County, commitment to clinical quality, commitment of resources to meet response time requirements, capacity for bringing in resources from nearby counties for disaster response, and commitment to community service. AMR and AMR's predecessor Regional Ambulance have provided emergency ambulance service in Contra Costa County since 1983.

The county contract is for a five-year period beginning July 1, 2005 and can be extended for up to four additional years. The contract provides ambulance response to 9-1-1 calls in all areas of Contra Costa County except for the San Ramon Valley and Moraga-Orinda areas, where ambulance service is provided by the fire departments.

Contra Costa Health Service is aware that some last minute campaigning to the public may be using scare tactics regarding ambulance response times and patient charges. "Both companies submitted excellent proposals," said Art Lathrop, Emergency Medical Services Director for Contra Costa Health Services. "AMR's proposal would increase the ambulance resources available on a day-to-day basis to respond to emergencies with no increase in patient charges."

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