St. Clair County 911 board approves recommendation to award ambulance contract to Regional Paramedical Services Inc.

The St. Clair County Commission, acting as the county 911 board, voted to accept the contract oversight group's recommendation to award ambulance service operations to Regional Paramedical Services Incorporated, pending review by the county attorney.

The recommendation brought several operational changes the board and oversight group have worked on for months, including new emergency medical dispatch (EMD) prioritization rules, increased penalties for missed critical-response targets, reduced penalties for lower-priority calls and new vehicle-tracking requirements for ambulances. A representative of the contract oversight group said the review process and recommendations were extensive and thanked bidders for their diligence.

The oversight group has worked since late December to evaluate proposals and drafted a contract that the board described as “a lot of moving parts.” The group also described a recent multi-hour review session to refine contract terms and the EMD protocols. "The professionalism with which they approached this process and analyzed it ... it's just exceptional," a COG representative told commissioners.

County staff and the contractor reported preparatory work already under way: the contractor has ordered radios to operate on the county's new radio system, and dispatch staff have begun incorporating the revised EMD scripts to prioritize life‑threatening calls. Robbie, a dispatch staff member, said training will begin once updated scripts are built into the computer-aided dispatch system so dispatchers can use the new priorities in practice.

Commissioners and staff discussed using a county-funded transport van for non-emergency or deceased-person transports to avoid tying up fully equipped ambulances. The county noted the coroner has authority to appoint deputy coroners and that staffing or volunteer availability will affect whether fire personnel can assist with those transports.

The board approved the recommendation by a voice vote. The motion passed; the contract will be finalized after the county attorney completes a legal review and staff work through remaining operational details.

The board noted the contract term was confirmed in meeting remarks as running "September 1 through August 31 of '27," and commissioners said they expect the contractor to be in place before the contract start so personnel can train under the new procedures.

Implementation steps described at the meeting include radio compatibility, vehicle-tracking setup, dispatch training on revised EMD priorities and monthly data reporting to evaluate response performance. Commissioners said the county will monitor the contract closely and reassess performance regularly.

No individual vote tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript; commissioners approved the motion by voice vote.