Heated debate breaks out over city’s pick for ambulance provider

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The San Diego City Council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee took a cautious approach to its contentious ambulance services contract Wednesday, delaying further discussion of the issue until the city’s Office of the Independent Budget Analyst could offer a report on a financial outlook for the presumptive winning bidder.

“It’s hard to know what to do as someone who cares deeply about the workers when the workers are asking us to do different things,” said City Councilman Stephen Whitburn, who made the motion to punt on the issue until they could see an independent financial report.

The committee voted 4-0 to wait until the office of the IBA submits a report based on an AP Triton “detailed analysis of the financial aspects of Falck and its proposal” before further discussion and possibly moving the report to the full council.

San Diego currently uses American Medical Response for its exclusive paramedic contract. The existing contract does not expire until June 30, 2022 or six months after the city approves a contract to another provider.

Falck, a Danish company which has its North American headquarters in Orange County, appeared poised to secure the contract to exclusively provide San Diego’s ambulance services following a preliminary contract signed in December. On April 9, 2020, San Diego issued a request for proposal to seek bidders for the contract.

Three replied, and ultimately city staff selected Falck’s more than $7.4 million contract to recommend to the council committee. That is $1.6 million less annually than AMR currently pays the city for the contract.

However, last week Civil Rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton gave his take on why the city should reject Falck for paramedic services. He wrote an opinion piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune attacking Falck for what he claims is poor, inequitable service.

“San Diego’s leaders appear to be careening toward a massive debacle with their controversial selection of a new 911 emergency ambulance provider, Falck,” he wrote. “The Denmark-based company has been accused of inequitable service and unjust practices in the United States, and there is great concern that the move could undermine San Diego’s commitment to racial equality.”

Sharpton pointed to labor and response time complaints since the company took over services in Alameda County, and cited an incident in Aurora, Colorado, when a Falck paramedic administered ketamine to Elijah McClain. McClain was sedated with the drug after police used a carotid hold that rendered him unconscious. He went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was declared dead three days later, on Aug. 30, 2019.

Falck denies Sharpton’s claims in regard to its California service.

“Falck is disappointed that parties from outside San Diego at the 11th hour would attempt to undermine the City of San Diego’s multi-year process to select the most qualified and reliable ambulance provider,” wrote Troy Hagen, chief commercial officer for Falck. “Falck’s response times for life- threatening emergencies in the predominantly Black and Brown urban areas in Alameda County were, on average, 1 minute and 19 seconds faster than in the remainder of the county.”

Hagen said the transition to Falck’s services would be a smooth one and it had already been vetted twice by city analysts.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Chief Colin Stowell called the issue “contentious” but said there was no time to wait to sign the contract, as paramedics and the public were waiting. He said the Falck bid includes 120 more daily ambulance hours and a larger fleet of ambulances.

On Wednesday, more than 40 people called in to the committee meeting, some of whom denounced Falck and others who wanted the deal signed with the company immediately.

Keith Maddox, the executive secretary-treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, said Falck was “notorious” for union busting and had a poor labor record. He urged the committee to “not gamble” with lives and livelihoods.

An AMR employee said when San Diego employees for the company were surveyed, a full third said they would not work for Falck and wanted to stay with AMR. Multiple AMR employees from Alameda County called in to ask the city not to move forward with Falck.

City Councilman Raul Campillo said he was deeply concerned about employees, but noted the San Diego Association of Prehospital Professionals had seen nothing to give them pause with the contract.

Discussion of the contract should return to committee in “about a month,” according to Baku Patel, IBA fiscal and policy analyst.