Midway FD, AMR finalize bid for ambulance service
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Midway Fire District and American Medical Response ambulance service took one giant step closer this week to becoming partners in providing ambulance service for the county. The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), outlining some of the stipulations that would be included in a contract if they were to be awarded the joint bid for ambulance service for the entire county.

This clears the final hurdle for Midway Fire and AMR filing a joint bid April 3 to Santa Rosa County to provide ambulance service for the next five years to the entire county. Under that bid, Midway will handle ambulance service for its own area, and AMR the rest of the county.

The MOU also gives both parties an escape clause, should they decide the partnership idea isn't working before they sign the final contract.

This agreement stipulates that AMR would pay Midway Fire District $300 per transport of emergency patients under any joint contract. It also says Midway Fire will buy two ambulances and lease those two ambulances and ambulance crews to AMR on a 24 hour/ 7 day a week basis, with the $300 per transport serving as the "lease fee." That stipulation is because the county contract would actually name AMR as being responsible to provide ambulance service to the entire county, and Midway would be working with AMR under that contract to serve the Midway area. Midway's ambulances and ambulance crews would only reach beyond that area if AMR needed back-up help in areas such as Holley- Navarre of Gulf Breeze City.

Midway Fire Chief Stephen Demeter told fire commissioners that attorneys representing both Midway Fire District and AMR talked by phone at length last week to formulate this agreement, and to come up with stipulations for a possible contract agreement, also.