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Lee County reviews EMS contract performance and updates ambulance-advisory committee resolution
Summary
FirstHealth presented performance data for Lee County EMS; the board approved an updated resolution establishing the Lee County Ambulance Advisory Committee and directed continued planning ahead of next franchise procurement.
Lee County officials heard an operational update from FirstHealth representatives on March 3 and adopted an updated resolution creating an Ambulance Advisory Committee to guide the county as it prepares for a new franchise period beginning after the current agreement ends June 30, 2026.
Jennifer Gamble, assistant county manager, introduced the item and said state law requires counties to ensure emergency medical services and allows counties to franchise EMS by ordinance. FirstHealth staff presented 2024 service data: more than 10,000 total EMS responses across the contract period and about 6,697 patient transports. The company reported an average dispatch-to-scene response-time goal of 8.59 minutes and said Lee County consistently met that target at 6.92 minutes on average.
"One of our critical measures of success is how quickly we are able to get to those patients," a FirstHealth presenter said, noting investments in staffing, mobile data terminals and additional bases since the contract began. FirstHealth representatives described ongoing investments of capital and workforce development, including the FirstHealth Paramedic Academy and local first-responder training partnerships.
County Attorney Whitney Parrish said the current franchise agreement runs through June 30, 2026, and the county is beginning the procurement process to allow time for applicant review, public hearing and possible transition. The board approved a resolution to formalize an advisory committee; the updated resolution allows the Emergency Management Director to appoint a designee to serve on the committee and requests that the county manager appoint members with health-care and EMS experience.
Emergency Management Director Matt Britt briefed the board on strategic planning needs for EMS, including geographic placement of resources, changing population centers, and a small number of county zones with longer average response times (presenters said roughly 3% of calls — about 46 calls in the period examined — occurred in areas with average response times of about 19 minutes or more). Britt said staff will analyze facility locations, resource distribution and potential use of fire-station space or other sites to reduce those outlier times.
The board voted to adopt the advisory-committee resolution and directed staff to begin the procurement planning and committee appointments. Commissioners asked about training partnerships, relationships with volunteer fire departments and dispatch, and options for reducing longer response-time outliers.
