El Paso County
Emergency Services Agency

About Us

Background:  The Emergency Services Agency is an 11-member board made up of EMS and first-responder professionals, physicians, elected officials and citizens, offering broad-based representation.  Currently, the board includes two emergency room physicians, three paramedics, one emergency medical technician, one fire marshal, three elected officials and a citizen at-large.  In addition, advisory board members include the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment, Detox, nursing home, and senior citizen representatives.

Private Ambulance Contract:  The ESA board is in the process of releasing a competitive bid Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new ambulance contract.  The current contract requires a new bidding process after 10 years of an exclusive provider.  American Medical Response was awarded the contract in 1997.  The board recently hired an independent professional consultant to conduct stakeholder input and write the RFP.  It is expected that the new RFP will be released early 2008 and a new contract awarded mid-2008.  The ESA board recently approved a six-month contract extension with AMR, which will provide additional time for the RFP and contract award process.  American Medical Response has been an excellent community partner and has indicated an interest in continuing their local relationship by bidding on a new contract.

Oversight:  In concurrence with the contract, the ESA board oversees response time requirements and overall contract compliance with the ambulance provider.  Fines are based specifically on contractual agreements and penalties are assessed on actual response time data.  Fines are discussed with the ambulance provider and formally approved by the ESA board at open board meetings.  There are also contract provisions that require the ESA to appoint a Medical Control Committee made up of medical professionals.  The ESA is additionally required to address complaints that may arise as it relates to contract compliance.  These can range from a variety of issues, including medical and billing concerns, among others.  the ESA has an obligation to provide appropriate oversight in order to protect the public's interest and the safety of our community.

Public vs. Private:  Within El Paso County, there are currently multiple fire-based ambulance transport services, which include:  Black Forest, Fountain, Tri-Lakes, Calhan, Ellicott, and others.  And while the issue of Colorado Springs Fire Department transport occasionally arises and has been addressed by City Council, it's important for our El Paso County citizens to know that the purview of the ESA board is to oversee a "private" ambulance provider.  With that task at hand, our board must provide due diligence for both compliance and new contract/RFP processes.  As a result, the ESA board, the Colorado Springs City Council and the County Commissioners will approve a new contract for "private" ambulance transport services in El Paso County mid next year.

We encourage interested citizens to attend meetings and learn more about the ESA by visiting www.esaboard.org where board and committee meeting dates are listed.  With the assistance of medical, emergency service and fire professionals, private citizens and various organizations, the ESA committed to providing appropriate and necessary oversight and assuring a sound and honest process for private emergency ambulance services in the future.

American Medical Response (AMR) is a proud community partner serving El Paso County for more than 25 years. They are part of the community, developing solutions to meet its unique needs.  They are professionals, meeting the highest performance standards in the industry. 

AMR was founded in 1992 through the consolidation of several well-established regional ambulance companies.  AMR has since grown with more than 200 acquisitions.

They are a partner, offering the assurance of respect, compassion and dignity for every patient they serve.  In addition to providing service for Colorado Springs and El Paso County, AMR is also the provider for the United States Air Force Academy, Petersen Air Force Base and Schriever Air Force Base.

In addition, they have service relationships with the cities of Fountain and Falcon.  Their organization operates a fleet of 27 advanced life support and equipped with sophisticated EKG patient heart monitoring, Global Satellite Positioning Systems (GPS), electronic patient care reporting and road safety monitoring computers.