A partnership that formed one of the largest ambulance services in Nevada has turned bitter, with Dignity Health facing accusations of breach of contract and misconduct.
Ambulance Management Group, which launched Community Ambulance Co. in 2010 with Dignity, filed suit in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, alleging that the California-based health organization concealed corporate control changes that would have triggered an option to buy out Dignity’s ownership interests.
AMG has also accused Dignity of moving away from its “patient-oriented mission to its balance sheet,” saying in court documents that one of its executives attempted to “dictate that patients be delivered to associate facilities even if the facility was not the closest hospital.”
“Throughout its history, Community Ambulance has benefited from consistent, locally accountable leadership, even as its health system partner has undergone changes in corporate structure and executive leadership,” a spokesperson for Community Ambulance wrote in a statement to the Review-Journal. “AMG believes Community Ambulance must remain guided by the community-based values on which it was founded.”
Dignity Health did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Ambulance Management Group, founded in 2010 to service underserved communities in Southern Nevada and provide dependable medical transport, first entered into an agreement with Catholic Healthcare West, which would later become Dignity Health. Since then, the company has grown from three ambulances to more than 100.
The terms of the operational agreement granted Ambulance Management Group the right to purchase Catholic Healthcare West’s membership share in the partnership if there was a change to its corporate control.
After Catholic Healthcare West changed its name to Dignity Health in 2012, AMG said in court documents that it inquired about a possible change of control and was lied to by company executives.
AMG cited Dignity’s restated articles of incorporation in its lawsuit as proof of a change in its corporate structure.
Over the course of its agreement, AMG also accused Dignity of changing its corporate culture, including representatives calling for the ambulance service to deliver more patients to Dignity-connected facilities.
“As one example, a Dignity Health executive issued a directive to AMG representatives that patients at a particular special event must be transported to a Dignity Health facility regardless of whether it was the closest facility or in line with patient choice,” the lawsuit states. “This directive was purely profits motivated and unlawful. AMG flatly refused because it would be dangerous for patients, illegal, and jeopardize (Community Ambulance’s) licensures and contracts.”
An AMG spokesperson said the company had attempted to resolve the dispute without litigation, but it became necessary to protect its rights and patients’ interests.
The company also said the lawsuit will not interrupt operations, staffing or emergency responses in Southern Nevada.
Contact Devan Patel at dpatel@reviewjournal.com.
