Southwest Ambulance ready to hit the streets

Erin Neff

Monday, July 24, 2000 | 11:18 a.m.

Southwest Ambulance cleared one of its last legal hurdles to starting service in the Las Vegas Valley when a judge ruled Friday against American Medical Response.

AMR had sued Southwest and Clark County, claiming a Dec. 7, 1999, ruling by the County Commission to accept Southwest's franchise application was "arbitrary and capricious."

District Court Judge James Mahan ruled there was no need to overturn the County Commission's decision to begin negotiations with Southwest.

"Eighteen months and two lawsuits later, we're the closest we've been to starting our service," said Southwest's Sharon Henry. "We feel completely validated."

AMR's lawsuit alleged the commission's decision violated county code and AMR's franchise agreement. AMR has been operating an ambulance service here for 50 years.

Both sides in the bitter 18 month debate claimed some victory from Mahan's ruling.

John Wilson, Southwest's other executive, called it the "second biggest milestone" for the company's effort to start a competing ambulance service in the county.

Trace Skeen, chief executive officer of AMR's Southern Nevada region, said his company's lawsuit proved that more work needs to be done before opening the market to competition.

"Our concern was that they were going to just run into this," Skeen said. "The court acknowledges that no franchise was granted, that the application was simply accepted and that there's a great deal of work that needs to be done."

A revised ambulance ordinance will be unveiled next month in the county and should be adopted in September. Southwest is in the process of setting up equipment, bringing in ambulances and interviewing prospective employees. The company hopes to be up and running by early November.

Wilson said he hopes AMR will now begin working with Southwest to help determine the best way to split service in the county and increase the effectiveness of the overall medical transport service countywide.

"I don't think AMR has dealt with reality very well in this process," Wilson said. "They have tried to protect a 50-year monopoly, and they only want to focus on their own well-being."

Skeen said he believes his company has had an acceptable level of participation in the current ordinance revision process.

"There's a lot at risk," Skeen said.

He stopped short of saying his company would work with Southwest.

Southwest is also negotiating with the cities of North Las Vegas and Las Vegas to provide some level of service in those communities.