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Liberty County approves amended Acadian ambulance agreement; county reports 20-minute average response
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Summary
Commissioners approved a revised Exhibit A to the county's ambulance services contract with Acadian Ambulance Service of Texas LLC, formalizing three 24-hour and two 12-hour ambulances during peak periods; staff reported average response times around 20 minutes and additional peak units being provided at no extra cost to the county.
The Liberty County Commissioners Court approved a revision to the county's emergency ambulance services agreement on April 28 that specifies the number of ambulances allocated to unincorporated areas and allows Acadian Ambulance Service of Texas LLC to provide additional units during peak hours at no cost to the county.
Under the revised Exhibit A, the contract specifies three 24-hour ambulances and two 12-hour ambulances during identified peak hours. County staff said Acadian has already been providing additional ambulances during high call-volume periods to help meet demand without charging the county for the extra units.
The county's emergency-services contact reported that, of 551 9-1-1 calls received since Acadian began service April 1, roughly 340 resulted in transports after excluding refusals, city-covered calls and prison transfers. On the basis of those calls, staff reported an average response time “right at 20 minutes,” which the county described as meeting the national standard. The staff member noted that a small number of responses exceeded 30 minutes because of distance, train delays and other extenuating circumstances.
County Attorney/administration staff and the office overseeing the contract said Acadian's agreement already contains defined annual fees for additional ambulances (a fixed annual cost prorated monthly), and that any requested permanent addition to the fleet would follow the contract provisions. For now, county staff said Acadian’s proactive provision of extra units during peak hours is being done as a business accommodation at no additional county cost.
Outcome: The court voted to approve the revised Exhibit A authorizing the specified ambulances and recognizing that Acadian may provide additional units during peak hours at no cost to the county. Commissioners also directed staff to continue developing protocols for dispatch and to pursue grant opportunities aimed at reducing low-priority 9-1-1 transports.
