Allegiance to provide EMS services in Pflugerville
The Pflugerville City Council on Tuesday approved a two-year contract with Allegiance Mobile Health following the end of its contract with Acadian Ambulance Services.
Allegiance, a private company based in Georgetown, will provide ambulance service starting July 1 until June 30, 2024, with the option for renewal for one-year subsequent terms, said city spokesperson Maggie Holman. Under the contract, Allegiance will provide a minimum of four mobile intensive care unit ambulances at no cost to the city. Allegiance has committed to having each ambulance arrive at an emergency scene within eight minutes at least 90% of the time.
The city has been wrestling with who will provide its ambulance service for more than a year. Travis County ESD No. 2, also known as the Pflugerville Fire Department, used to provide EMS services to the city until it said it could no longer afford to because of an increased call volume. In November, voters in the area outside Pflugerville approved creating ESD No. 17 to handle ambulance calls in the ESD No. 2 service area. City officials said the district's stipend of about $2.8 million for EMS calls was unsubstantiated and hired Acadian to begin providing ambulance service in Pflugerville.
In March, however, Pflugerville officials voted unanimously to end the contract with Acadian after only two months, citing dissatisfaction with its quality of service, including inadequate response times. The City Council in May voted to begin contract negotiations with ESD No. 2 to again provide EMS services, but later that month also opened negotiations with Allegiance after a few council members said the ESD price tag would be much more than they had been led to believe.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 4-2 to go with Allegiance.
"I feel that going with the private entity affords us the power to pass to a municipal entity," Council Member David Rogers said before voting yes.
Council Member Rudy Metayer and Mayor Victor Gonzalez voted no. Metayer said he felt more comfortable with a public provider. Mayor Pro Tem Doug Weiss was not present.
More: Pflugerville talking to 2nd ambulance provider after tensions rise with ESD
Both Council Member Ceasar Ruiz and Kimberly Holiday have said they understood when the council voted on May 11 to begin negotiations with ESD #2 that the cost to the city would be around $290,000 per year.
They said they learned the annual cost for service could climb up to $2.9 million per year.
Prior to the approval of Allegiance on Tuesday, the City Council voted 4-2 to not pursue a contract with Travis County ESD No. 2, with Metayer, Gonzalez and council members Jim McDonald and Rogers voting no.
More: Pflugerville to begin negotiations with ESD No. 2 to again provide EMS services
McDonald said he was concerned with the ESD's unwillingness to work together with a transition plan compared to other providers. Ruiz echoed that transition plans did not seem to be the end goal for ESD No. 2 during negotiations.
"Do we go into a three-month discussion with a partner whose established at the outset they don't have a long-term transitionary goal," McDonald said.
Officials with ESD No. 2 said the experience with Acadian reinforces their concern that a for-profit EMS company cannot provide adequate service to a city the size of Pflugerville.
"While we can’t always control the bureaucracy of the City, ESD No. 2 promises that when our community needs us, we will be there," ESD 2 said in a statement. "Our priority is saving lives and we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that the residents of Pflugerville have access to quality, affordable and reliable emergency services."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Allegiance to provide EMS services in Pflugerville
