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C.4

To:	Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors
From:	Jeff Carman, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Date:	April 18, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Authorize Payment to AMR for Dispatch and System Status Management Costs

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 04/18/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, Director
Diane Burgis, Director
Karen Mitchoff, Director
Federal D. Glover, Director

ABSENT:

Candace Andersen, Director

Contact:

Lewis Broschard, Deputy Fire Chief (925) 941-3501

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: April 18, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to execute, on behalf of the Fire Chief, a purchase order to American Medical Response West in an amount not to exceed $435,030 for ambulance dispatching and system status management services provided from February 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017.

FISCAL IMPACT:

AMR's cost to provide these services to the District (over and above what is included in the Emergency Ambulance Service Contract) is $435,030 for the term February 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017. $435,030 will be charged to the CCCFPD EMS Transport Fund.

BACKGROUND:

In February 2016, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District) began dispatching all American Medical Response West (AMR) ambulances with Contra Costa County EOAs 1, 2, and 5 as part of the new Emergency Ambulance Service Contract. The original staffing plan for the system status management and dispatching of ambulances was developed in late 2015 in collaboration with AMR. This plan called for two (2) AMR employees to staff the District's Communications Center at all times to provide the system status management and dispatching capacity needed to support the operation. The cost of these AMR employees was included in the contracted ambulance unit hour rate paid by the District to AMR.

During the first few months of the program, it was determined that additional AMR dispatchers were needed, at least on a temporary basis, and a third dispatcher position was filled. Due to the technical complexity of taking on the City of Richmond ambulance dispatching and CAD interfaces, implementation of the East Bay Regional Communication System (EBRCS) for AMR, and our goal to improve response time compliance and overall system performance during the first year of operations, we also added an AMR Dispatch Supervisor to manage, lead, and direct the ambulance dispatch personnel and assist with the integration and implementation of new work flows within the District’s Communication Center. This temporary staffing model has remained in place to support the District through the first year of operations. Currently, steps are being taken to reduce this staffing based on the successful implementation of certain technologies, efficiencies, and work flow changes and the realization of experience received during the first year of emergency ambulance operations.

The additional dispatcher position and the supervisor position were not included in the original staffing plan modeling and were added as we learned what was necessary during the initial startup phase of this operation. The changes, and accompanying costs, were necessary to ensure a consistent service delivery and compliance with the Emergency Ambulance Service contract performance measures during the first year of operations.

Since these extra costs were not anticipated during the original contract negotiations in late 2015, they were not included in the original service contract and the District did have a mechanism by which to pay AMR. A contract amendment during the first period of operations would have been problematic and speculative as to the long-term needs of this new system. The experience of the last 12 months running the emergency ambulance system, accompanied by the series of staffing and workflow changes in the Communications Center needed to establish a suitable model and staffing plan moving forward, has given us the opportunity to make amendments to the contract now that will meet our needs into the future.

This Board order requests approval to pay AMR for those unanticipated costs related to the dispatch and system status management of ambulances from February 2016 through March 2017. The cost of providing the additional dispatcher position on a 24/7 basis, along with the cost for the supervisor position, total $435,030 for the period February 2016 through March 2017. The original contract between the District and AMR is being amended effective April 1, 2017, to include new payment provisions for dispatch and system status management costs.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The District will not be able to compensate AMR for services they provided in the startup phase of dispatch integration for the emergency ambulance transport system.