Collierville sees no problem with Rural/metro ambulance service

Despite a national reorganization with Rural/Metro ambulance company filing for bankruptcy, Collierville town officials say it is not affecting local service.

“We are continuing with uninterrupted operations,” Town Administrator James Lewellen said.

In the event there are any problems, town officials say they will rebid the contract that they now have with Rural/ Metro and ask for proposals from other vendors. But they believe the town’s existing contract has protections built in to prevent any potential problems.

With Rural/Metro restructuring its debt, Lewellen said, “The national re- structuring may look different but I don’t see much change at the local level.”

Rural/Metro has an office in Collierville. The town has a five-year ambulance contract with an optional one-year renewal with Rural/Metro that started July 1.

Both Germantown and Collierville opted out of the county’s ambulance plan this year. American Medical Response now provides county ambulance services for those in the unincorporated areas, along with Arlington, Lakeland and Millington. Germantown has joined Memphis and Bartlett in operating its ambulance service out of its fire departments.

Collierville’s contract calls for two ambulances at all times, three more ambulances as needed, and a nine-minute response time at least 90 percent of the time.