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Board extends ambulance contracts 3 months; supervisors press EMS staff on response times
Summary
The board approved a three‑month extension of emergency ambulance contracts so the state can finish RFP review. Public and supervisors raised concerns about response‑time compliance and asked staff for local data.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors on May 6 voted to extend existing emergency ambulance contracts for three months while a pending request‑for‑proposals completes state review, and directed staff to return with data on response times and system performance.
The extension was requested after the county said the state Emergency Medical Services Authority delayed review of the RFP. "When we asked for the extension, they [the state] gave us only three months," the county’s EMS program manager told the board. The board approved the short extension to keep services continuous while the procurement process finishes.
A public commenter, Jimmy Webb, urged the board to require contractor compliance with response‑time standards during the extension period and noted alleged historical noncompliance by one operator. "If you guys are going to award them another 3 months of service, let's not make it crappy mediocre service. Let's make them adhere to what the contract is," Webb said.
Supervisors asked staff about the county’s response‑time standards and the data underlying them. County staff said standards follow California classifications: for code‑3 (lights and sirens) responses the standard is "less than 10 minutes in an urban area," and for code‑2 responses "less than or equal to 15 minutes." The county manager said the standards were consistent with other similar contracts in the state but agreed to provide more localized data and to consult fire chiefs on whether different areas should have tailored standards.
Mindy Wintersweig, director of specialized medical services, and EMS staff told the board that ambulance providers must meet a 95% compliance rate for required response‑time percentages, and staff said the incumbent met those contractual requirements in recent reporting. Nevertheless, supervisors expressed interest in additional district‑level analysis, arguing that geography, traffic and local needs can vary and merit more granular review.
The board approved the three‑month contract extension; staff said if the procurement does not conclude within that time they will seek additional extensions from the state authority.
