Changes Proposed for Contracting Paramedic Service

Preparing to accept bids on a paramedic contract, the San Diego City Council is reevaluating the process it uses to contract for paramedic services.

A city manager’s report has recommended several changes, including screening of potential bidders, when the city negotiates the next contract for paramedic services. The council is expected to act on the recommendations Nov. 18, before the city begins accepting bids on the contract. The current contract with Hartson Medical Services expires June 30. It cost the city $3.56 million last year.

Among the changes recommended by the manager’s office is a proposal to lengthen the contract from three years to four. The city would retain the option of extending the contract twice, each time for two years.

Another proposal calls for the city to shift the paramedic dispatch function from the Fire Department to the company that is awarded the contract. According to the report, response time can be reduced by 60 seconds by allowing the contractor to assume dispatch responsibilities.

Deputy City Manager Coleman Conrad said the proposed changes in the evaluation system will enable the city to quickly screen out companies that realistically cannot meet the paramedic needs of a city the size of San Diego. Under the proposed changes, all bidders would have to persuade an evaluation committee that they can meet certain criteria, including:

- Experience in providing paramedic service to urban areas of at least 350,000 population.

- Ability to respond to calls within 10 minutes 93% of the time.

On Monday, council members praised Hartson’s track record for responding to calls under the 10-minute maximum 96% of the time. The council, however, heard complaints from some paramedics about longer response times in some areas.

Some paramedics attributed the lengthy response time to the city’s decision to reduce the number of paramedic ambulances from 15 to nine three years ago. Under the system in place today, the city is covered by nine “floating” paramedic units on a 24-hour basis, and five more units are available “during peak demand hours.”

Three years ago San Diego was covered by 15 static units confined to certain areas of the city. But city officials determined that this system lengthened a unit’s response time and made it difficult for a contractor to meet the city’s requirement for a 10-minute response on 93% of the calls.

City paramedics respond to about 3,000 assistance calls monthly.

The city manager’s report also recommends that the winner of next year’s contract be required to include an attractive employee benefits package, to reduce the high turnover rate among paramedics. San Diego’s turnover rate is 25% annually, while the national average is 20%.

Council members complained Tuesday that the city is paying for the training of paramedics who work here for a while and transfer to better-paying firefighter or paramedic jobs throughout the county. Paramedics under contract to Hartson and the city earn $18,000 to $28,800 a year, compared to the median county range of $20,208 to $29,880 paid to paramedics in other jurisdictions.