Sedgwick County EMS asks commission to approve one demo ambulance purchase to speed delivery

Brian Nicholas, EMS deputy chief, told the Sedgwick County Commission staff meeting that EMS is requesting commission authorization to add one ambulance to the county fleet and to use funds already held in the EMS equipment reserve to pay for the vehicle.

“If we can create a purchase order by March 1, we have the opportunity to shave about 1 year off of the normal 2 year process,” Nicholas said, describing a vendor program that would supply an ambulance built to the county’s specifications that had been used briefly as a demo at trade shows. Nicholas said the demo route reduces lead time and that the county’s remount program also reduces cost; he said remounting saves about $117,000 per ambulance versus buying entirely new equipment.

The request is prompted by growing call volume and rising unit-hour utilization. Nicholas showed a year-over-year demand increase of roughly 5 percent, about 3,500 additional calls in the most recent year, and said the department’s current unit-hour utilization is about 0.55 (the county’s operational target is near 0.35–0.40). Nicholas said the fully equipped ambulance chassis and equipment were estimated in the presentation at roughly $561,000 (presentation materials also showed prior-year estimates near $534,000). He asked the commission to use the EMS equipment reserve fund to purchase the vehicle to meet the vendor deadline.

County staff said the EMS equipment reserve balance earmarked for EMS is $2,760,000. County staff and Nicholas told commissioners that the reserve was created from consolidated EMS funds when EMS was merged into the general fund and that the county maintains an equipment replacement program to offset future needs.

Commissioners asked operational and funding questions. Commissioner Howe asked how often the county hits high-designation statuses; Nicholas said the status events occur daily and offered to provide more precise status counts once CAD reporting issues are resolved. Commissioners pressed for a larger long-term plan: Nicholas said the department’s goal is to add two 12-hour on-duty units this year and two more next year if demand continues to rise, and he forecasted an ongoing need to add roughly one ambulance every one to two years to keep pace with call growth.

Nicholas said staff would present the purchase to the commission in a near-term agenda and said administrative action would be used to meet vendor timing if a formal vote could not be scheduled before the vendor’s March 1 ordering deadline. County staff confirmed a formal commission authorization will be required to spend reserve funds and that the item will return to the commission for action.

Next steps: staff will place the purchase request on a commission agenda (staff indicated a technical adjustment and possible administrative action to meet the vendor deadline, followed by formal commission authorization). Nicholas and EMS staff said they will provide follow-up details on unit status counts, staffing requests that are in the department’s business needs assessment, and the proposed housing/location for the additional unit.