REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 9, 2024
FROM
LUTHER SNOKE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
American Medical Response Protest Regarding Contract Award for Ground Ambulance Medical Transport Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Reject and deny the protest submitted by American Medical Response to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors on November 30, 2023, pursuant to Request for Proposals No. ICEMA23-ICEMA-4811, regarding the procurement for ground ambulance medical transport services.
2. Reaffirm award of contract to the Consolidated Fire Agencies, and its private subcontractor Priority Ambulance, for ground ambulance medical transport services, for an initial term of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2029.
(Presenter: Luther Snoke, Chief Executive Officer, 387-4811)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item is non-financial in nature and will not require the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The ground ambulance medical transport services Request for Proposals (RFP) No. ICEMA23-ICEMA-4811 resulted in receipt of a proposal from American Medical Response (AMR) and the Consolidated Fire Agencies (CONFIRE). The evaluation panel received a presentation from each bidder where clarifying questions were asked and met as an evaluation group before arriving at the final scores. Final scores resulted in a four-point difference out of a possible 1,720 total points with AMR receiving 1519 points and CONFIRE 1515 points, but three out of the four evaluators ranked CONFIRE higher than AMR. The County engaged both entities in contract negotiations and the two contracts were presented for Board of Supervisors’ (Board) consideration on December 5, 2023 (Item No. 80).
On November 3, 2023, the Purchasing Department received a protest letter from AMR, alleging the County 1) failed to follow the selection procedures and adhere to requirements specified in the RFP, and 2) otherwise violated State and/or Federal law. The Purchasing Agent reviewed and considered the protest and notified AMR of its decision to deny the protest.
On November 30, 2023, the Clerk of the Board received a second protest letter from AMR for the Board, again stating the County 1) failed to follow the selection procedures and adhere to requirements specified in the RFP and its addendums, and 2) otherwise violated State and/or Federal law.
On December 5, 2023 (Item No. 80), the Board denied the protest from AMR and awarded the ground ambulance contract to CONFIRE.
This item will confirm the rejection and denial of AMR’s protest from November 30, 2023 and reaffirm the award of the contract to CONFIRE and its private subcontractor Priority Ambulance. AMR’s protest should be denied based on the following: 1) the RFP stated the intent of the RFP was to award to the proposer that best meets the needs of the County; 2) the RFP provided for negotiations with more than one proposal and therefore staff may present more than one proposal to the Board for consideration; 3) staff’s recommendation for award is not binding on the County; 4) the Board is the sole approving authority for the County for a ground ambulance medical transport service contract and has the discretion to select, award and approve the proposal that demonstrates the best value and meets the needs of the County; and 5) the award complies with State law, including Assembly Bill 389, and Federal law.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Julie Surber, Principal Assistant County Counsel, 387-5455) on December 22, 2023; Finance (Erika Rodarte, 387-4919, Administrative Analyst, 387-4378) on December 22, 2023; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on December 22, 2023.