Report may intensify ambulance battle

Erin Neff

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

If the preliminary data contained in a blue-ribbon panel report examining emergency medical transportation in the city of Las Vegas is any clue, the contentious ambulance debate is about to get nastier.

The panel is tentatively scheduled to present its report to the City Council next Wednesday showing the Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Department has met the targeted goals for its fledgling medical transport business.

The apparent success of the year-old fire department program, coupled with a recent audit casting doubt on American Medical Response's response times, could lead council members to expand the fire department's medical program.

That could come at the expense not only of AMR, but of Southwest Ambulance, which is attempting to get a franchise to become a third medical transport provider in the city.

Southwest Ambulance executive partners John Wilson and Sharon Henry made their first trip to the blue-ribbon panel Wednesday morning.

Both scribbled notes and attempted to discern a pattern that could help their case in the guarded speech of fire officials who have not yet completed their report.

"I'm not sure we have all of the elements we want to have," Fire Chief Mario Trevino said during the panel's meeting. "This might not be ready next Wednesday."

The council was scheduled to reconsider Southwest Ambulance's franchise application Feb. 2. The blue-ribbon report might not be ready until then, which would further delay Southwest's bid.

The Clark County Commission granted Southwest preliminary approval last month to begin applying for a franchise to start a competing ambulance service to AMR in the county.

The county's action must also be approved by the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. The North Las Vegas City Council is scheduled to reconsider Southwest's request Feb. 16.

When the Las Vegas City Council gets the report, it will have a clearer picture about its fire department's experimental medical transport service.

During 1999 Fire and Rescue Services conducted 2,953 medical transports -- or roughly 7.9 percent of the total citywide, according to the draft report. AMR handled the rest of the cases.

When the City Council granted its fire department the authority to begin such transports, it set a first-year goal of 5 to 10 percent of the total calls.

Although the fire department got off to a slow start with only 43 medical transport cases in January 1999, it surged to 332 in June and averaged 246 calls per month.

"Clearly this was a new business and as the graph indicates, it took awhile for us to get our feet on the ground," Trevino said pointing to a chart in the draft report.

Perhaps more compelling than the department's ability to handle the number of calls is the $1.2 million in charges billed for services. The department expects to collect 52 percent of all bills by the end of March.

Deputy Fire Chief Ken Riddle said the draft report includes an examination of topics like hospital diversion, the fire company's interaction with AMR, reporting requirements, ambulance fees discounts and response times.

Response times were the major finding in a separate report released Monday that showed AMR service lagging behind its contractual requirements.

Although AMR is required to meet an 8:59-minute response 90 percent of the time on emergency calls, the audit found AMR makes that mark fewer than 90 percent of the time.

The audit also claims AMR is increasing the number of exemptions it claims for missing the mark.

"It clearly shows the need for another ambulance provider," Southwest's Wilson said.

Acting AMR executive Trace Skeen disputed the audit's findings.

"We are meeting the response times specified in our franchise agreement," Skeen said.

The blue-ribbon panel draft report includes an entire section written by AMR. That section details the impact of the fire department's new medical service on AMR.

The panel includes city and county fire and medical representatives, accountants and county franchise and licensing managers.

The final evaluation has yet to be written. As a result, Wednesday's meeting was deemed a working session, and the draft report was shared only with members of the blue-ribbon panel.