South Windsor Council to Consider Switching Ambulance Providers, But is it Legal?

The Town Council will consider a resolution to name Ambulance Service of Manchester, LLC as South Windsor’s ambulance provider for all service calls, including basic and advanced life support – despite questions about the impact such a move might have.

Currently, the South Windsor Ambulance Corps holds the contract for the town’s basic life support, assigned by the state more than 30 years ago. An ambulance service provider, assigned by the Department of Public Health, cannot be removed except under very specific, limited circumstances.

The motion to award Ambulance Service of Manchester the contract for the town’s ambulance service comes after the town of South Windsor went out to bid on both types of ambulance service. Ambulance Service of Manchester, which currently provides advanced life support for the town, proposed to provide both at no cost to the town.

A long history of complaints prompted the town’s request for proposals.

Most recently, the ambulance service for years declined to upgrade to Advanced Life Support, despite repeated requests from the town. Former SWAC President Larry Gorman told the Town Council in March 2012 that it would cost between $500,000 and $700,000 to upgrade.  

In addition, the ambulance service has been occupying space in Station 3 of the South Windsor Volunteer Fire Department without paying rent and has been using town fuel without payment.

Finally, many in town associate the lack of advanced life support with the 2012 death of South Windsor High School student Hannah Patrie.

On that day, one of SWAC’s ambulance had been dispatched to another call and another was being repaired. As a result of those and other circumstances, Hannah was not transported to Manchester Memorial Hospital for a full hour.

South Windsor Ambulance Corps finally announced that it would upgrade to advanced life support in March of 2013 and Gorman announced his retirement just days later. 

But the town still went out to bid on the services before SWAC had the opportunity to make improvements and despite SWAC appointing a new director  according to the company’s new CEO, Phil Fleury, who said that he has not had an opportunity to repair damaged relationships.

Fleury, who took over the post from Larry Gorman in August of 2013, said he has met with Town Manager Matthew Galligan six or seven times since then. And, he said, he has made repeated attempts to rectify problems between the town and the ambulance corps.

“We’re just stunned that we haven’t even been given an opportunity to interview for either portion,” Fleury said by phone Friday. “We filed the RFP when we were supposed to and have been working on upgrading to ALS care. We had state inspections a couple of weeks ago. We’re ready to go and this kind of came out of nowhere. We’ve been working in good faith getting equipment ready to go forward to have this go forward.”

SWAC has spent more than $100,000 hiring paramedics and purchasing equipment to upgrade to ALS; it received authorization from the state to provide ALS on Oct. 7, Fleury said. 

Fleury said he repeatedly approached Galligan asking him if he could appear before the council and that he has asked to negotiate a price for fuel as well as a lease for the building space. On each account, according to Fleury, Galligan rebuffed him, advising him to wait until after the RFP was settled.  

“In my first meeting with him I said ‘I understand rent is an issue. Let’s sit down and talk about it’ … I also said, ‘I’m willing to budget out for fuel costs. Tell me what we’re paying.’ And again he said, Let’s work through this other thing first,’” Fleury said.

Though the ambulance corps may never have had the opportunity to win back the town’s trust and with it the ALS contract, the law remains on SWAC’s side and the town will still have an uphill battle if it attempts to remove South Windsor Ambulance Corps as its provider.

According to Mary-Ellen Harper, co-chair of the state Emergency Services Task Force (a subcommittee of which Galligan is also a member), no municipality has ever succeeded in removing a provider, though it’s unknown how many have tried. The process is so difficult, she said, that towns are likely dissuaded from ever filing an initial complaint.

The difficulty municipalities have in removing a provider is the subject of the task force’s work, commissioned last year after legislation – supported by South Windsor representatives - to give towns the ability to choose their service provider was defeated.

“Under the current system, a town has to go through a process that is almost impossible unless you go out and kill someone,” Harper said. To have a provider removed, a municipality would have to “prove they're not providing for the health, safety and welfare of patients… The criteria is so difficult it sets you up for saying ‘why should I do this?’ It’s too difficult.”

South Windsor Town Councilor Keith Yagaloff said the town attorney has advised the council that the resolution Monday is part of the process to replace SWAC as its service provider.

“The town is allowed to seek alternative options if we are not satisfied and the town through its attorneys and staff is taking the necessary measures to explore that option,” Yagaloff said Friday.

The state task force is scheduled to issue its final report in February; state llawmakers are also expected to author legislation resulting from that report.