Background

On December 4, 2012, the Board approved the creation of a Yolo County Local Emergency Medical Services Agency (LEMSA).

On March 1, 2013, the Yolo County Health Department submitted the proposed RFP to the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA), the State of California lead agency responsible for oversight and administration to all the LEMSA's, for guidance and approval to release the RFP on July 1, 2013.

On May 7, 2013, the Board approved the interim contract for Emergency Ambulance Services between Yolo County and American Medical Response (AMR).

On May 28, 2013, EMSA approved the Yolo County RFP for Emergency Ambulance Services, Advanced Life Support and Critical Care Transport.

On June 4, 2013, the Board adopted the resolution to designate the Yolo County Health Department as the Local Emergency Medical Services Agency,  establish the Yolo County Emergency Medical Services Agency (“YEMSA”) effective July 1, 2013 and adopt the EMS Plan. In addition, the Board adopted the ordinance amending the Yolo County Ambulance Ordinance (Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 4 of the Yolo County Code) to reflect the addition of a "Critical Care Transport" and "Inter-facility Transportation" definitions; and modification to the "Local EMS Agency" definition to remove the second passage related to Yolo County's involvement with Sierra Sacramento Valley EMS Agency; and amending the Yolo County Ambulance Ordinance (Article 11 of Chapter 6 of Title 4 of the Yolo County Code) to reflect modifying the minimum insurance requirements of the Permittee.

Reason for Recommended Action 

The Yolo County EMS Agency will be established effective July 1, 2013 and has the responsibility as the new LEMSA to monitor and regulate the ambulance provider in the County of Yolo. The County currently has an interim agreement with American Medical Response (AMR), which shall terminate upon completion of the RFP process, and has elected to proceed with a Request for Proposal (RFP) to select a permanent ambulance company who shall operate in the exclusive operating area. The RFP contains stringent guidelines and procedures for the Ambulance Provider to adhere to as well as a defined penalty structure for non-compliance. The RFP will allow the County to search for the best possible Emergency Ambulance Provider through a competitive bidding process in hopes of improving and sustaining high quality EMS services for the residents of Yolo County.