COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — Leaders in Cocke County said they are working on a new contract with its ambulance provider, saying patients have waited too long for some ambulances to arrive during emergencies.
They said response times had previously reached as much as 8 hours after a person called for an ambulance, causing concerns among the Cocke County Commission. They said the current contract will end in May and the committee is in the process of writing a new one.
They said that the contract is from around 6 years ago and is outdated, no longer meeting the county's needs. They also said the contract does not include any penalties if the service does not meet their expectations.
“We’re not going to concentrate on the number of ambulances they have, but on the response times themselves because that is a service we’re looking for — how long does it take you to get from point A to point B and start on this patient and get them to the hospital," said Forest Clevenger, a county commissioner.
Their current ambulance provider is First Call, which was bought out by Priority Ambulance in October. Clevenger said that the new contract will be out for providers to bid on, including Priority Ambulance.
He said they hope to have it ready for the Cocke County Commission's vote by March, but no date has been set yet.
First Call released a statement that says it is contracted to provide two 24-hour ambulances for calls, but operates three 24-hour ambulances instead and often staffs the fourth ambulance some days of the week. A portion of its statement is available below:
First Call Ambulance was awarded the 9-1-1 contract in 2012, and the county renewed the same contract in 2017 for a five-year term that ends on June 30, 2022. We understand that the county is taking this opportunity to update and improve the contract terms through a new competitive purchasing process. We look forward to reviewing Cocke County’s RFP. First Call is committed to maintaining ambulance service above and beyond our contractual obligations to the county throughout the process.