AMR opts out of appearing before Operations Committee this evening

American Medical Response–or AMR–the private ambulance company that had been asked by some members of the Anderson County Commission to make a presentation about their services and how they might be beneficial to the county, has decided not to appear before the Operations Committee Monday night.

In a letter to Operations Committee Chairman Tim Isbel, County Mayor Terry Frank and the rest of the County Commission, AMR Regional Director Christopher Blach says that he received an “unsolicited invitation to attend the Operations Committee Meeting scheduled [for] April 8, 2019 to introduce our organization” to county leaders. That night, AMR made a brief, three-minute presentation under “New Business,” and was then placed on the agenda for the May Operations meeting, scheduled for this Monday, May 13th.

In the letter sent Friday afternoon, Blach writes that, “in light of a number of concerns brought to our attention related to our presentation scheduled for the Anderson County Operations Meeting…we would like to withdraw our appearance at this time from the agenda.”

Blach also writes that, “We do not wish to interfere with the County’s decision to maintain a public EMS model or choose to look at other options, such as a public/private partnership solution. That is a decision which obviously rests with County Leadership and their constituents. Should Anderson County choose to release a Request for Information or Request for Proposal, we would be very interested in participating in that process.