Ambulance Company Faces Fines

The company that provides ambulance services to San Joaquin County could be fined as much as $75,000 for delayed response times in July and August, down from $120,000 in May and June, the Stockton Record reports.

The county board of supervisors in January entered into an exclusive contract for ambulance services with American Medical Response. The terms of the contract call for the company to pay $5,000 monthly for each zone of the county in which it does not respond to at least 90% of calls within 7.5 minutes in urban areas and 17.5 minutes in rural areas. Under the contract, AMR also must pay $10 for each minute above the time limit.

AMR spokesperson Jason Sorrick said the company is basing ambulances in more rural areas to help improve response times.

The contract took effect in May. Figures on ambulance response times were not tracked prior to the new contract (Kane, Stockton Record, 10/25).