Ambulance Firm Seeks Revised Pact

An ambulance provider for nearly a dozen Orange County cities wants to reduce the number of vehicles by a third from the number agreed to in a September contract.

Medix Ambulance Service officials said fewer ambulances would not affect service.

A decision on the contract amendment is expected in March, said Chief Chip Prather of the Orange County Fire Authority, which administers the contract.

Prather said Medix’s proposal “is being studied to see if it’s adequate to provide the level of service” called for in the contract.

He said emergency officials want to know if 16 ambulances instead of 24 are enough to meet peak demand.

Medix agreed to provide 24 ambulances to 11 cities, from Rancho Santa Margarita to Seal Beach, according to a Fire Authority memo dated Dec. 30

But in October, Medix notified the Fire Authority that it could provide better service with 16.

Medix “never intended to dedicate 24 ambulances” in the 11 cities, the memo said.

Instead, the company “fully intended to use a flexible deployment methodology” that it says will increase response time by using fewer ambulances, the memo said.

The document did not explain how Medix would accomplish that.

“They proposed a different plan from the contract. To see this happen in the first 30 days of the new contract was surprising,” said Prather. “We thought they were committed to providing 24 ambulances.”

Prather said other companies complained that Medix was underbidding the contract during the selection process. “They said there wasn’t enough service demand in the areas to make the business profitable,” he said.

Repeated efforts to reach Medix officials for comment were unsuccessful.

The Orange County Fire Authority board of directors negotiated the contract with Medix on behalf of seven cities. Four cities negotiated their own contracts, but will allow the fire agency to administer them. During the selection process, the staffs of six cities ranked Medix second behind American Medical Response when bids were evaluated, according to the fire authority memo.

Under the proposed changes, Medix would maintain one full-time ambulance in each city and at least one on call. But the on-call ambulances would be shared with other cities in a region. The September contract requires Medix to keep two full-time ambulances per city, except in Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, where the company is required to keep three each.

Lake Forest and Mission Viejo city councils issued the contracts to Medix. The company was ranked second in both cities for its ability to meet the guidelines for service established by city staffs.

Karen Wylie, assistant to the Mission Viejo city manager, said Medix’s response to calls for assistance within a prescribed time in the city is 98%.

“The question is: Can they meet the standard [of at least 90% compliance] by setting up a different system? That’s what the fact-finding will show,” said Wylie. She said city officials will wait for study results before deciding on Medix’s proposed changes.

Deputy City Manager Mark Pulone said the Lake Forest City Council has not taken a position on Medix’s plan to have only one full-time ambulance in the city. City officials are awaiting the study results, he said.

Officials from two cities that would lose one full-time ambulance said they would agree to the reduction as long as service was not compromised.

“From our point of view, if it doesn’t affect the level of service, we will be OK with the changes,” said June Liu, Cypress administrative services manager.

Medix made more than 1,200 calls in Cypress last year with few complaints about service and those were “fully resolved,” she said.

Stanton City Manager Jake Wager said he was assured that the proposed changes “are intended to increase the on-time response.” He said he has not received complaints about Medix.

City and Fire Authority officials said Medix is paid by its patients or by their insurance companies. The base rate for service can be up to $531. Mileage, oxygen and medical supplies are extra. If paramedics are needed, there is an additional cost of $282.

Cities served by Medix under the contract are Cypress, La Palma, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Seal Beach, Stanton, Rancho Santa Margarita and Villa Park.