Acadian Ambulance will play key role in federal disaster response in Louisiana

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded a contract to Acadian Ambulance Service under which Acadian will play a key role in the federal government's response program for emergencies or disasters in Louisiana. Pictured discussing the terms of the contract are Acadian's project team with representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, General Services Administration, LA Bureaus of EMS, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 25, 2006

LAFAYETTE, LA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded a contract to Lafayette-based Acadian Ambulance Service under which Acadian will play a key role in the federal government's response program for emergencies or disasters in Louisiana. Under the contract, awarded in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration, Acadian will be responsible for coordinating the use of subcontracted emergency medical resources in catastrophic situations—creating a unified local, state and federal response.

Acadian Director of Corporate Development Chris Cirillo, who met with representatives of the federal agencies Wednesday, said the contract targets emergency medical evacuation along the 12 coastal parishes of Louisiana. “In a federally declared disaster situation,” Cirillo said, “when our state's ambulance and wheelchair van resources have been depleted, federal agencies will call upon Acadian to coordinate ambulance and wheelchair van response from other companies across the nation. Unlike ambulance providers from outside the state, Acadian will use its intimate knowledge of the geography and local healthcare systems to efficiently make use of out-of-state ambulance resources.”

Acadian performed in this manner during last year's hurricanes, Cirillo said, but the partnering and coordination were not contractually sanctioned by a federal contract at that time.

Cirillo said the contract is intended to make full use of Acadian's knowledge of the 12 coastal parishes, as well as its experience in hurricanes and other disasters. “An out-of-state ambulance or wheelchair van crew coming into a severely devastated area after a hurricane or other disaster will be challenged by missing street signs and landmarks making it difficult for unfamiliar, out-of-state ambulance crews to navigate effectively. Our many years of service to the parishes in Louisiana provide Acadian with an unparalleled knowledge of the layout of each parish and a unique perspective to understand the complexities of each community's medical infrastructure. Also, we are able to utilize the geographic information from the extensive data base that has been developed to serve the Acadian membership program.”

Cirillo says Acadian was awarded the contract because of its proven ability to efficiently integrate resources with other agencies during disaster situations as well as the extensive working knowledge that Acadian personnel have developed in serving coastal parishes from Mississippi to Texas.

Federal officials said the response program is evidence of the federal government's efforts to develop a more collaborative and strategic government-wide approach to utilizing the full resources of the government in responding to national emergencies.

"The federal government is learning how to better integrate the expertise of agencies to better serve this country in times of national crisis," said Deidre Lee, FEMA deputy director of operations and chief acquisitions officer. "This collaboration is just as much about demonstrating inter-agency effectiveness as it is in meeting the current needs of the State of Louisiana."

The performance-based contract for companies nationwide that would be used in a Louisiana disaster is for services through November 30. The estimated amount of the base periods and the two one-month option periods cover contract services through January 30, 2007

Gil Jamieson, Principal Federal Official responsible for managing an emergency federal response in Louisiana, says within 24 hours of notification Acadian will provide up to 188 ambulances and a fleet of wheelchair vans capable of moving nearly 1300 special need evacuees within 72 hours. "The contract will support the close coordination between FEMA and the State of Louisiana in bringing additional resources to the state to ensure that critical care patients can be evacuated safely and in a timely manner,” Jamieson said.

"As the lead federal agency for health and medical services under the National Response Plan, HHS has worked closely with our federal and state partners to help Louisiana develop its medical evacuation plan," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness RADM Craig Vanderwagen. "These contracts are an important element in ensuring that assets are available to carry out this critical operation."

"This award represents an advancement for government wide collaboration on procurements for critical support during times of disasters and emergencies," said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. "I am proud that GSA could support HHS and FEMA to deliver key components of the National Response Plan."

FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

Acadian Ambulance, with 35 years of experience, is the nation's largest privately owned ambulance service, serving 50 percent of the population of Louisiana, two Mississippi counties and the Golden Triangle area of Texas, with more than 2000 employees, 200 ambulances and 7 emergency helicopter ambulances, transporting an average of 270,000 patients annually.

The company received national recognition for its response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and was praised by President George W. Bush. The president said “the people of Acadian Ambulance Service--and the other first responder agencies who joined them in hurricane rescue efforts—brought an unprecedented level of heroism to the field of emergency response.”