AURORA — The City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a contract for a new citywide ambulance service company, ending an 18-year partnership with its previous provider, Rural Metro of Central Colorado, Inc.
Council approved the selection of Falck Corporation of America after an open request for proposals in December and on the recommendation of an industry selection committee.
Three applicants were evaluated by the nine-member committee, which included people from Children’s Hospital Colorado, The Medical Center of Aurora and the Aurora Fire Department.
Applicant criteria included the size of each company’s annual reimbursement package, their credentials, personal and clinical standards and the relative cost of ambulance rides.
Kevin Waters, acting battalion chief of the city’s Fire Operations Division, said the committee chose the recommendation of Falck unanimously.
“This was hard. My concerns were about the cost of this to the healthcare system and to our constituents,” councilwoman Molly Markert said. “Kevin has assured me that there is a clause in the contract that (Falck) will honor … to care for people who are indigent and who don’t have access to insurance.”
Of the three applicants, Falck offered to pay Aurora the largest annual reimbursement for use of city infrastructure and services, $1. 67 million. The next highest offer was $1.65 from American Medical Response of Colorado, Inc. and then $1.5 million from Rural Metro.
Kyle Mickelson, a field training officer with Rural Metro, said that since 1997 Rural Metro has had a great service record with Aurora, employing 64 dedicated employees to the city and 30 additional volunteers.
“We have a lot of concerns about this (selection) process,” he said. “Restarting this service from scratch is going to be difficult … and what can you do with $1.6 million that you can’t do with $1.5 million?”
