Provision of Ambulance Services in Richland County, WI.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

For the Provision of Full-time 24/7/365

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) SYSTEM

9-1-1 AMBULANCE RESPONSE

In order to maintain a Viable and sustainable EMS System within Richland County, Wisconsin

A. Summary. Richland County, WI (population 17,220) is seeking proposals for the provision of 9-1-1 ALS Transporting Ambulance Services that will provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on a full-time basis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, for about 60% of the geographical area of Richland County.

B. Ambulance Services are currently being provided as follows:

Richland County currently operates a 9-1-1 AEMT level service, which covers about 60% of the county. The other areas of the county are covered by local EMS level services. Richland County EMS has mutual aid agreements with three of the neighboring services.

The service has 6 full-time crew members who work one 48 hour shift each week.

There is currently an interim service director in place along with a 32 hour a week administrative assistant. The service also has casual employees to fill shifts along with on call employees.

C. Deadlines. Important events and dates for a Proposer’s consideration:

▪ Request for Proposals issued: April 17, 2026

▪ Proposals due: May 11, 2026 by noon

▪ Proposals evaluated and Finalists are determined: May 12, 2026

▪ Presentations for Finalists are set: May 26, 2026

▪ Recommended Entity proposed to County Board for approval of contract: June 23, 2026

▪ Anticipated start date of Ambulance Service: January 1, 2027

D. All questions regarding this RFP or Solicitation are to be submitted by email to:

Contact Person: Tricia Clements, Administrator Mailing Address: 181 W. Seminary Street Richland Center, WI 53581 Telephone: 608-649-3001 Email: tricia.clements@co.richland.wi.us

Any oral communications shall be considered unofficial and non-binding. Only written responses to written communication shall be considered official and binding.

The County reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to determine appropriate and adequate responses to the written comments, questions, and requests for clarification. If an addendum is required, the addendum will be posted on the County website. It is the proposer’s responsibility to check the County website to verify whether any addendums have been issued before submitting a proposal.

E. Definitions. Commonly used words and terms in this RFP:

● “County” means Richland County, Wisconsin

● “Contractor” means the entity ultimately selected by Richland County to be

SECTION 1

Summary, Deadline, Notice to Proposers and Definitions awarded the contract for the services described in this RFP

● “Proposer” means the entity responding to this RFP

● “Proposal” means the response submitted to the County by the Proposer for this RFP

● “RFP” means this Request for Proposal

● “RFP Coordinator” means the contact person for this RFP

A. Purpose of RFP It is the intent of the County to award a minimum of three-year contract, preferably a 5-year contract, for the provision of 9-1-1 Ambulance Service within a geographical area of the County. A contract may be awarded to the most advantageous Proposer who presents the best value for the County, and that is the most responsive to the RFP requirements and preferences.

Components of the response to the RFP should include the following topics:

● The Contractor shall provide one (1) Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance, staffed and equipped, available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, to respond to emergency medical calls throughout the area in Richland County currently served by Richland County EMS. and a second one available during peak times.

● The Contractor will provide EMD.

● The Contractor shall provide Reports to Richland County Supervisors on a quarterly basis that identify the following items (at a minimum):

a. Number of calls during the previous time period, with a breakdown of calls providing mutual aid and when mutual aid was required.

b. Breakdown of the types of calls.

c. Report on Community engagement and training events attended.

d. Average response times for emergency calls (Do they satisfy the NFPA

1710 Standard for EMS Turnout Time of 60 seconds or less, 90% of the time)

• Option: Though this RFP and subsequent contract do not provide exclusive rights, access, or guarantees to interfacility transfers that may occur from the Hospital, Interfacility transfers are permissible, and the successful Contractor may work with the Hospital directly regarding opportunities to perform such transfers.

● Total costs to be charged to the County.

● Identify the primary location of both ambulances.

Other items for consideration

● Ensure that EMS service complies with all applicable industry standards, as well as state and federal regulations, and operate under established medical control standards, including a formal Quality Assurance (QA) and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program.

● Manage the implementation and continuation of the Unified Incident Command System (as it relates to EMS operations) during multi-agency and multi-casualty incidents.

SECTION II

Introduction and Scope of Services

● Research, develop, and implement new programs designed to enhance and improve EMS services, including but not limited to Mobile Integrated Health (MIH), Community Paramedicine, Community EMS, Tactical EMS (TEMS), and other innovative service models.

● Attend meetings for Richland County, at a minimum of twice per year, to provide EMS system updates, recommendations, and information, and to fulfill requests and directives from the represented entities.

● Coordinate community support and educational programs to be offered through the Service, such as CPR, EMT, “Stop the Bleed”, etc.

● Replacement Ambulances

The RFP should account for the scheduled replacement of ambulances based on established lifecycle standards, mileage, maintenance costs, and reliability benchmarks. Long-term capital planning must be included to ensure fleet sustainability and uninterrupted service delivery.

● Replacement Equipment The proposal should also factor in the replacement of essential medical and operational equipment. This includes cardiac monitors, stretchers, power-load systems, radios, PPE, and other mission-critical tools subject to wear, technological obsolescence, or regulatory updates.

B. Scope of RFP

This RFP does not commit the County to award a contract, pay costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal responding to this request, or to procure a contract for service.

The County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received because of this request, or to cancel in part, or in its entirety, the RFP process if the County deems it is in the best interest to do so. This RFP shall not be construed to be a low-bid process, although price will play a critical role. The contract, if awarded, will be negotiated with the Proposer who can best meet the County needs as identified in this

RFP.

It is in the Proposer’s best interest to submit a complete and accurate Proposal. Where the Proposer’s documentation or response is incomplete or silent, it shall be assumed that the Proposal is deficient. Further, it is in the Proposer’s best interest to submit a Proposal that meets the stated requirements contained in this RFP. While Proposers may provide alternatives to the requirements for consideration, failure to comply with all minimum requirements described in this RFP may disqualify the Proposal.

Any subcontracts for essential services, as described in the RFP, between the Contract- Holder and separate entities must be identified in writing by, and shall be subject to, approval by the County during contract negotiations. If subcontractors are used, poor performance by the subcontractor, regardless of County approval, will remain the responsibility of the Contractor, who shall be responsible for any performance or financial implications of that result.

C. County Background Information

a. Description of the County Richland County is a rural county in the southwestern part of the state. There are 16 towns, 5 villages and one city.

The county seat is Richland Center, and it is centrally located in the county.

The total population of the county is just over 17,000 people and the county is comprised of a land area consisting of approximately 586.15 square miles.

Richland County is looking for a Contractor to provide Ambulance Service to approximately 60% of the county, see attached map. Part or all of 12 municipalities would be served, including the city of Richland Center. The rest of the county is served by other EMS services. There are current mutual aid agreements in place.

Richland County has one hospital, The Richland Hospital and Clinics. They are a critical access hospital located in Richland Center.

b. Description of Emergency Communications. 9-1-1 calls are directed from the Richland County Dispatch Center operated by the Richland County Sheriff’s office.

c. Description of EMS Call Volume

2026 – 1st quarter - 286 2025 – 1386 2024 – 1131 2023 – 1228 2022 – 1192 2021 - 1229

D. Contract Period.

The expected schedule is as follows:

• Request for Proposals issued: April 17, 2026

• Proposals due: May 11, 2026 by Noon

• Proposals evaluated and Finalists are determined: May 12, 2026

• Interviews for Finalists are set: May 26, 2026

• Recommended Entity proposed to County Board for approval of contract: June

23, 2026

• Anticipated start date of Ambulance Service: January 1, 2027

E. Proposal Submission Deadline. Proposals must be submitted no later than the specified deadline time and date. Proposers must respond to the written RFP and exhibits, attachments, or amendments in writing. A Proposer’s failure to submit a proposal as required before the deadline shall cause their proposal to be disqualified and returned to the Proposer upon request. The County will not be held responsible for unmarked proposals or proposals delivered to the wrong location. Proposals may not be delivered orally.

Administrative Information

a. RFP Coordinator. The main point-of-contact for this RFP is:

Contact Person: Tricia Clements, Administrator Mailing Address:181 West Seminary Street Richland Center, WI 53581 Telephone: 608-649-3001 Email: tricia.clements@co.richland.wi.us

b. Communications Regarding the RFP:

Upon release of this RFP, all Proposer communications concerning this procurement must be directed to the RFP Coordinator in writing. Only written responses to written communications shall be considered official and binding upon the County. The County reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to determine appropriate and adequate responses to the written comments, questions, and requests for clarification.

c. Proposal Submittal. Proposers must submit their proposals by email to the contact listed in this RFP. The proposal must be received by the County no later than 12:00 pm on May 11, 2026.

The County will not accept any amendments, revisions, or alterations to proposals after the deadline for submittal.

d. Receipt of Proposals. Upon receipt by the RFP Coordinator, all proposals will be marked with the date and time of receipt. Late proposals will not be considered. All proposals shall remain firm for at least 180 days from the date specified for opening the proposals.

e. Awarding Authority. Any award of a contract must be approved by the County. The County reserves the right to investigate, request clarification of, and verify any and all proposals, to waive any and all irregularities, and/or to reject any and all proposals as deemed by the County as necessary and/or in the best interests of the County.

f. Rejection of Disqualification of Proposals. The County reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to reject any and all proposals for any reason, including but not limited to, failure to adhere to the proposed requirements or inaccuracy of any information supplied within a proposal. The County shall notify the Proposer of a rejected proposal. Furnishing false or misleading information during the proposal process may result in the County rejecting the Proposer’s submission.

The County reserves the right to waive any RFP requirement(s) it deems in the best interest of the County, so long as that requirement is waived for all proposals. The County reserves the right to waive minor irregularities in proposals received.

g. Evaluation of Proposals. The County may conduct investigations of

Proposers’ submissions and claims, as it deems necessary. Each proposal will be reviewed to determine if the Proposer can meet the County requirements as set forth in this RFP. The Proposer must demonstrate that each requirement is met.

The County may request further clarification or written information from individual Proposers in the event of incomplete or missing information.

Proposers shall respond in writing to any requests for clarification. The County reserves the right to continue with the evaluation of the proposals and may select the proposal that most closely meets the requirements specified in this RFP.

Proposers may be expected to give presentations and answer questions on their proposals to County officials, staff, or representatives. Presentations will be limited to a maximum of one (1) hour, although the proposal itself should include all elements required and should be able to stand alone without representation.

The Proposer will be those individual services, companies, or institutions that have the following qualifications:

1. Experience and expertise in regard to the operations, structure, staffing and other issues critical to the effective operation of a modern EMS department to include volunteer, combination, paid-on-call, and/or career organizations.

2. Bidders with previous experience with similar provisions of 911 Emergency Response Ambulance are preferred.

3. Knowledge of federal and state laws, rules, and regulations and generally accepted standards for similar communities and EMS agencies.

4. The ability of the Proposer to meet the County scope of work.

5. Proposed cost to provide the Service to the County.

h. Proposal Withdrawal. A Proposer may withdraw its proposal by submitting a written request for withdrawal, with such request having the signature of an authorized entity representative, to the RFP Coordinator, at any time prior to the submission deadline. The entity may thereafter submit a new proposal prior to the deadline. Modifications offered after the deadline will not be considered.

i. Ambiguity, Conflict, or Errors in the RFP. Due care and diligence have been used in the preparation of this information, and it is believed to be substantially correct. However, the responsibility for verification of all information presented herein shall rest solely with the Proposer.

If a Proposer discovers any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the RFP, it shall immediately notify the RFP Coordinator of such error in writing and request modification or clarification of the document. Any modification made to this RFP will be issued as an addendum and posted on the County website.

If a Proposer fails to notify the RFP Coordinator prior to the date and time fixed for submission of offers of an error or ambiguity in the RFP known to her/him, or an error or ambiguity that reasonably should have been known to her/him, then she/he shall not be entitled to additional time by reason of the error/ambiguity or its late resolution.

j. Disclosure of Proposal Content. All submitted proposals become the property of the County and shall be subject to any applicable open records statutes and record retention laws. The content of all RFP’s submitted shall remain in effect for a minimum period of 180 days. Proposals, once received and date stamped, become public documents and can be utilized as the County sees fit.

All proposal information shall be held in confidence as permitted by law until a contract is formally executed and/or the RFP is cancelled. Upon award, the proposals and associated materials shall be open for review by the public in accordance with Wisconsin Open Records Law. By submitting a proposal, the proposing entity acknowledges and accepts that the full contents of the proposal and associated documents shall become open to public inspection.

The County will attempt to uphold the confidentiality of vendor trade secrets to the extent allotted by law.

k. Implied Requirements. Products and services not specifically mentioned in this RFP, but which are necessary to provide the service described by this RFP, shall be included in the proposal. It is intended that this RFP describe the requirements and response format in enough detail to secure comparable proposals.

l. Proposal of Additional Services. If a Proposer offers services in addition to those required by and described in this RFP, these additional services must be clearly identified as “Additional.” The County may add additional items to the final contract at the sole discretion of the County.

m. Indemnification. The Proposer agrees that pursuant to any proposed agreement based on this RFP, the awarded Proposer will protect, defend, indemnify, and save whole and harmless County officials, officers, agents, and employees from and against all claims, demands, causes of action, damages, judgments, loss and expenses, including attorney’s fees, of whatsoever nature, character, or description that any person or entity has or may have arising from or on account of any injuries or damages (including but not restricted to death) received or sustained by any person, persons, or property, on account of, arising out of, or in connection with the performance of the work, including property, on account of, arising out of, or in connection with the performance of the work, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any negligent act or omission of the contractor or any agent, servant, employee or sub-contractor of the contractor in the execution or performance of this agent, servant, employee or sub-contractor of the contractor in the execution or performance of a contract.

Proposer further agrees to protect, indemnify and hold the County harmless against and from any and all claims and against and from any and all loss, cost, damage, judgments, or expense, including attorney’s fees arising out the breach of any of the requirements and provisions of this contract of any failure of contractor, its employees, officers, agents, contractors, invitees, or assigns in any respect to comply with and perform all the requirements and provisions hereof.

n. Monetary Restitution. In the event that any future contract is prematurely terminated due to non-performance and/or withdrawal by the Contractor, the County reserves the right to seek monetary restitution (to include, but not be limited to, withholding of monies owed) from the Contractor to cover costs for interim services and/or to cover the difference of a higher cost (difference between termination Contractor’s rate and new company’s rate) beginning the date of Contractor’s termination through the contract expiration date. In the event a civil suit is filed to enforce this provision, the County will seek attorney’s fees and cost of suit from the Contractor.

o. Kickbacks. It shall be unethical for any payment, gratuity, or offer of employment or contract to be made by or on behalf of a subcontractor under a contract to the prime contractor or higher tier subcontractor or any person associated therewith, as an inducement for the award of a subcontract or order.

p. Any Agreement Subject to Availability of Funds. Any agreement resulting from this RFP will be subject to the availability of governmental fiscal funding. If such funds become reduced or unavailable, any contract shall be subject to immediate modifications, reduction or termination on the expiration date, or the date in which the funds have been eliminated.

q. Governing Law and Venue. The laws of the State of Wisconsin shall govern any proposed agreement, and all obligations of the parties created hereunder are performable in Richland County, Wisconsin. In any legal action arising from this Agreement, the laws of Wisconsin shall apply, and exclusive venue shall lie in Richland County, Wisconsin.

r. Litigation. In the best interest of the County, any Proposer who is currently involved, either directly or indirectly, with any litigation against or involving the County, may be disqualified and/or not considered for an award.

s. Rights of Data. The County shall have the right to the use of data and reports resulting from this RFP without additional cost or other restrictions except as may be established by law or applicable regulation.

t. Addition/Deletion of Services. The County reserves the right to add and/or delete services to this RFP. Financial impacts for such service additions or deletions will be negotiated between the Proposer/Contractor and the County. All amendments to a contract based on this RFP must be in writing and signed by all parties.

u. Proposer Responsibility for Expenses. The Proposer shall be responsible for payment of expenses associated with any response to this RFP and any future contract, including but not limited to: wages, salaries, materials, supplies, transportation, communications, fees, taxes, insurance, etc.

B. Required Information to Provide in Proposal:

1. Proposals must be typewritten using a minimum of a 12-point font.

2. Proposals must include page numbers and have major sections tabbed.

Each should have a table of contents that outlines the proposal content and should be sequenced and numbered consistent with the requirements of this RFP. Any information that does not fit logically into one of the labeled sections should be included in an appended section.

3. The Proposer is to respond to this RFP with information to include the following:

1. Introductory letter signed by an authorized person with authority to bind the entity in any contract with the County.

2. Table of Contents.

3. Executive Summary.

4. Background information about the organization.

5. Summary of the proposed 911 Ambulance services to be provided addressing the following items:

• Longevity of contract

• Ability to provide EMD

• Ability to provide training to all services within the county

• Ability to expand service area in the future, if needed

• Ability to provide mutual aid

• Service level provided, prefer Paramedic Level

• Willingness to make The Richland Hospital and Clinics the primary Emergency Room used

• Ability to provide a Medical Director for all county services

• Ability to maintain the service in a centralized location

6. Summary of the Leadership Team profiles of the responding entity.

7. Responses to Section IV - Contract & Pricing Options.

SECTION III

RFP Response Format

The County currently owns three ambulances, equipment and a building. These items may be available for sale. If interested in a tour, please reach out to the RFP Coordinator.

A. Proposers shall provide their proposal showing total pricing and any exceptions, for the cost of the entire provision of 911 Ambulance services in the County. Total cost should be included in the Response to the RFP at the very end of the Document.

B. If the Proposer would like the County to consider other options, they must be presented with the Response to the RFP at the time of submission, clearly marked as “Optional”, along with any additional costs or fees.

SECTION IV

Contract & Pricing Options

Attachment A: