Henderson seeks to franchise nonemergency ambulance services to private company
Henderson wants to franchise its nonemergency ambulance services out to a private company, city officials said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The city has used private companies to handle nonemergency services for years, but Fire Chief Matthew Morris said those relationships had always been loose and without a formal agreement.
The fire department handles all emergency calls, such as vehicle crashes, shootings, heart attacks and major medical calls. The private companies are called upon to handle the other auxiliary services, such as hospital-to-hospital transfers, or driving patients from a doctor’s office to a hospital or to their homes, Morris said.
But with no formal agreement, there’s no accountability, Morris said.
“There will be clear expectations for what they do, and we can hold them accountable,” he said, adding that the company would have to follow the protocols and procedures set by the city.
Under the agreement, the company would pay the city a franchising fee, but it’s unclear what that fee would be. American Medical Response pays the city of Las Vegas an $800,000 annual franchise fee.
In 2010, Henderson approved a business license for three city firefighters — who have since retired — to start Community Ambulance, a private ambulance company. The approval caused an uproar, with other private ambulances in the Las Vegas Valley saying the approval showed favoritism to city employees.
It was unclear Tuesday how long the application period would be open.
Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Find him on Twitter: @ColtonLochhead