SanBernardinoEMSEOAs.pdf

In 2004, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors authorized the implementation of ambulance provider Exclusive Operation Areas (EOAs) as authorized by Sections 1797.6, 1797.85, 1797.224 and 1797.226 of the Health and Safety Code. EOAs are one tool by which ICEMA ensures the effectiveness and success of a medical transportation system.

Those ambulance companies awarded an EOA are under contract to ICEMA and San Bernardino County to meet standards as set forth in the contracts, including response time standards. Except for the two instances noted below, those awarded contracts are the only ambulance providers authorized to provide ambulance transportation within the designated EOA for both emergency 9-1-1 calls and interfacility transports.

• The EOA contractor may request mutual aid from within or without the County. This request is made through the authorized contractor's dispatch system.
• The Veterans Administration has entered into a federal contracts with various providers. Those providers may only transport Veterans Administration patients to and from their destination.
• Ambulance companies operating outside San Bernardino County who transport patients into an EOA for outpatient services may wait and return the patients to their homes or health care facilities outside San Bernardino County.

Source: Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency