South Windsor to Solicit Bids for Ambulance Providers

South Windsor is finally sending out its much-anticipated request for proposals for the town’s ambulance service.

“We sent in the advertisement for this Saturday and the due date [for responses] is August 19,” said Town Manager Matthew Galligan in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Up until recently, the South Windsor Ambulance Corps, the town’s primary ambulance provider, offered EMT, or basic life support, service. It did not, however, offer advanced life support - or paramedic - service.

The town had what is known as “paramedic intercept” in which a South Windsor Ambulance meets up with an advance life support ambulance en route to the hospital to provide advance life support, former South Windsor Ambulance Corps President Larry Gorman said in an interview over the summer.

The issue was brought into sharp focus upon the death of Hannah Patrie, a 15-year-old girl who collapsed at South Windsor High School during a conditioning exercise at a dance camp in June 2012. Patrie lost consciousness and died.

One of the questions surrounding Patrie’s death was the response time of the town’s first responders. An Aetna ambulance that is part of the Ambulance Service of Manchester eventually brought Patrie to the hospital about an hour after the initial call came in. (While Patrie wasn’t transported to the hospital for that amount of time, she was at least being worked on by emergency personnel during that period.)

It was later discovered that one of the two South Windsor Ambulance Corps vehicles was in the shop being repaired.

The Patrie family subsequently filed a notice of intent to sue both the towns of South Windsor and Manchester.

Under fire for the Patrie incident and other perceived missteps, the South Windsor Ambulance Corps announced in April that it would be upgrading to advanced life support and that Gorman was retiring as president.

Still, that wasn’t enough for Galligan or the town to stop going through with the RFP.

“This is a serious issue for South Windsor, which has two ambulance providers,” Galligan said. “The Town Council is upset with one of them. There has been no communication. They were supposed to upgrade and never did anything.”

Indeed, one of the issues the town has had with SWAC is that it has not communicated with Galligan or the council.

Prior to the decision to upgrade to ALS, SWAC had a consultant review its operations and prepare a report. Galligan has asked to see the report, but SWAC has declined the request.

“I know they advertised nationally for a new director,” Galligan said. “I am giving them a shot as part of the RFP, but they don’t have communication with town now, what makes me think things will be different? We’re thinking in terms of quality of service. They have to step up and show they have the ability to do this.”

The town also supported a bill that was before the legislature this past session that would have made it easier for municipalities to switch ambulance providers. That bill did not pass.

Galligan said, however, that a committee was being formed to study the issue and that he is trying to be named to that committee.

As the first vice president of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, Galligan said he has encountered numerous towns that have similar issues with their ambulance providers.

“There are 20 towns I know of that said there is an issue here,” Galligan said. “It’s a monopoly and [the towns feel] they should be allowed to send it out to bid like other items.”

State law currently provides only limited circumstances under which a municipality may remove or change its ambulance service.

For years, Gorman said that it would cost between $500,000 and $700,000 for SWAC to upgrade to advanced life support service.

However, Town Manager Matthew Galligan said last winter that the town could receive advanced life support from another ambulance service for no additional cost.