Ambulance Oversight Committee Moves RFP for Ambulance Service to Full Board

Members of the Effingham County Board's Ambulance Oversight Committee have voted to move the Request for Proposals for ambulance service to the full Board.

Abbott EMS' contract with the County Board expires in the spring of 2022. If the RFP is acceptable to the full Board, they can begin seeking proposals. Those proposals, though, are going to be reviewed by the Ambulance Oversight Committee, which will make a recommendation on which vendor to choose to the full Board.

Ambulance Oversight Committee Chairman Rob Arnold, who is also a member of the County Board, said his goal is to have a vendor in place six months before the current contract ends. If a different vendor is chosen, the six-month window would ensure time for an orderly transition.

The full County Board has scheduled a special meeting for Monday at 1:30pm, solely to consider the RFP and whether to publish the request and begin to seek proposals.

Committee members also discussed whether to replace retired Effingham Fire Chief Bob Tutko and departed board member Mike DePoister. The consensus was that a successor would be desired for Tutko to keep fire service experience on the committee, but that DePoister's spot would not be filled. That would leave an odd number of members on the committee to prevent any "hung jury" on votes, as Arnold put it.

The committee also decided to continue meeting monthly, rather than returning to quarterly meetings.