The Employee Relations & Public Safety Committee on Wednesday deferred action on a proposed five‑year emergency ambulance services contract with Metro Ambulance Services Inc., doing business as American Medical Response (AMR), after presentations on system performance, service enhancements and program details. The committee set a return date of Nov. 4.

County staff and the Department of Fire Rescue presented data showing recent improvements in unit hours, utilization and patient‑off‑load times after the county entered an extension of the prior contract. The proposed contract in the agenda packet is a multi‑year procurement with a recommended total not to exceed $77,074,607 across the term.

Chief Fulham of the DeKalb County Department of Fire Rescue briefed the committee on the system’s current model and the RFP outcomes. The chief said the county currently operates a “first on scene” model in which firefighters trained as EMTs or paramedics render initial care; AMR and county units together provide ambulance transport. “Response times do matter,” the chief said, adding that the county and provider are working to measure both response times and quality of care.

The RFP required proposers to provide cost estimates for multiple daily unit‑hour levels. The committee was presented with the proposal AMR submitted for a 600‑unit‑hour per‑day minimum (which county staff said could equate to as many as 35 ambulances deployed at times) and related subsidy scenarios. Staff noted the county currently pays an annual subsidy cap of up to $44.8 million for ambulance services under the contract extension.

AMR’s proposed enhancements described to the committee include a nurse‑navigation program that has diverted thousands of 911 calls to alternative dispositions, a pilot carrying whole blood on some units for pre‑hospital transfusion, a commitment to reduced ambulance off‑load (APOD) time through on‑site supervisors at receiving hospitals, technology to improve unit posting (OptimaLive), and commitments to staffing and 15‑minute shift turnarounds at change of crew.

The committee asked for additional comparative materials from procurement showing how proposers addressed enhancements and requested more local breakdowns of response‑time performance (for cities such as Dunwoody and Brookhaven). Commissioners asked how much of recent improvement derived from additional units, changes in deployment, or supplemental providers in the zone.

The committee voted to defer item 1352 to the Nov. 4 Employee Relations & Public Safety meeting to allow staff to provide more detailed comparative proposal materials, local performance breakdowns and answers to commissioners’ questions.

Votes and formal action: Motion to defer item 1352 to Nov. 4 carried by voice vote; mover and seconder not specified in the transcript.

Why it matters: The contract governs emergency 911 ambulance response and includes financial commitments, performance standards and service innovations that affect response times, patient care options and county subsidy levels.