Falck protests state’s decision to award new ambulance contracts to AMR

Ambulance contracts for Kauaʻi and Maui are under protest once again, as the previously selected company is disputing the state Department of Health’s decision reversal to award the contracts to the longtime provider last month.

Emergency assistance organization Falck Northwest Corp. announced it had filed the notice of protest with the state Department of Health (DOH) on May 31, days after the department awarded American Medical Response (AMR) contracts for ground ambulance services for Kauaʻi and Maui counties.

“We filed a notice of protest after identifying what appears to be a clear error in calculating Falck’s scores, along with inconsistencies in the evaluation criteria used to award the contracts,” said Troy Hagen, the chief commercial officer for Falck USA, in a statement.

Hagen noted that the organization is a “foundation-owned healthcare provider” that is “ready to serve.”

“We look forward to opening discussions with the Department of Health and ensuring these vitally important emergency medical services contracts are awarded based on a fair and transparent process.”

The DOH has since suspended the contracts with AMR during the protest period, according to a statement sent by DOH Information Specialist Kristen Wong on June 4.

“The DOH has received a notice of protest from Falck Northwest Corp. regarding the non-selection of Falck for award of contracts to provide ground ambulance services for the counties of Maui and Kauaʻi,” Wong wrote.

“The filing of these protests triggers suspension of any further action on contract award and execution until a disposition is made.  Until that time, the DOH is unable to provide comment or other information regarding the RFPs and protests.”

The department put out a nearly identical statement last year when AMR protested the DOH’s decision to award Falck 3.5-year contracts for both counties in August 2023.

AMR’s protest led the DOH to cancel Falck’s contracts, restart the application process, and ultimately award the contracts to AMR on May 24.

AMR’s contracts are currently slated to start on Jan. 1, 2025, and run through Dec. 31, 2028. The contracts total over $38 million for Kauaʻi and over $74 million for Maui.

In a recent message response to Kauaʻi Now regarding Falck’s protest, Speedy Bailey, the regional director for AMR Hawaiʻi, said AMR respects the DOH process and Falck’s right to protest.

“We believe that the current process was fair and transparent. We look forward to continuing to provide quality emergency medical services to the communities of Kauaʻi and Maui County,” Bailey wrote.

Meanwhile, Falck’s Director of Communications Jeff Lucia said in a statement that the company is discussing “at least one calculation error and several evaluation criteria that appear to be different from those in the DOH’s RFP (Request for Proposals).

He noted that Falck was working to resolve the concerns quickly and efficiently.

“As these discussions are ongoing, Falck wants to respect the process, which is why it has filed a notice of protest as the first step in a formal process for contesting a contract award.”

The DOH did not provide any information on when a decision on the protests could be expected.