Logan County awards EMS contract to ComCare for three ambulances, with ARPA subsidy and strict reporting requirements

Logan County Fiscal Court voted unanimously to award the county’s next-year emergency medical services contract to ComCare, endorsing the ambulance committee’s recommendation for ComCare’s option 3B at a total contract price of $530,500.

The contract calls for three 24-hour advanced-life-support units, with two units staffed 24/7 by paramedics and the third staffed by a paramedic or AEMT. The court made the award contingent on contract language that requires monthly run-volume reports to the court, a shift-by-shift verification so the court can confirm paramedic staffing, and continued training opportunities for first responders. The county attorney was directed to draft the contract language and present it for court approval before full implementation.

Public comment and committee testimony helped shape the court’s move. “Logan County EMS made over 5,300 runs” in 2025, Dr. Sam Lee, director of the Medical Center emergency room and medical director for ComCare, told the court, stressing that increasing call volumes and geographic mileage require additional ambulances. Dr. Lee recommended “three trucks running 24/7” and urged competitive pay to retain paramedics.

Chris, a member of the ambulance committee, told the court the panel met several times, interviewed bidders and reached a consensus to recommend ComCare’s option 3B. “The committee is in full agreement of recommending the award of the next fiscal year contract to ComCare for their option 3B,” he said. The committee emphasized verification measures and transparency as conditions of acceptance.

Contract logistics and timing were a central part of the discussion. ComCare’s manager, John Holder, told the court his agency could begin hiring and orienting staff immediately but that equipment delivery and training would affect the exact date three trucks are fully operational. To avoid billing the county for unfulfilled service during a transition, magistrates and ComCare agreed to a prorated bridging approach: the court will use the alternate 2.5-truck bid (annual price of $275,000) to prorate July charges, allowing roughly one month to transition, then start full contract billing on August 1 once three trucks are in service.

County officials also resolved the immediate funding question. The county attorney said using ARPA funds for the first-year subsidy was feasible; the court recorded an ARPA balance of $678,534.70 and agreed that those funds could cover the near-term subsidy to support staffing and the service increase. The motion to award the contract and to include the ARPA subsidy and contract contingencies passed by roll call vote (Satterwhite, Goodwin, Wilcox, Harper, Crawford, Bolden and Baker voted yes).

What happens next: the county attorney will draft contract language reflecting the reporting, shift verification and prorating terms discussed; the judge and county attorney will finalize the agreement and present it at a future meeting for the court’s formal approval of the final contract documents. If ComCare cannot meet staffing or equipment obligations within the transition, the court reserved the right to prorate or withhold payment until obligations are met.

By limiting the award to the committee-recommended option while requiring verification and a short transition-prorate structure, the court sought to balance continuity of service with safeguards that the county will receive the staffing levels it is paying for.