The proposed change of ambulance providers for Maui and Kauaʻi will be on hold.
The Department of Health had selected Europe-based Falck Northwest Corporation to replace American Medical Response later this year.
However, unions and elected officials were concerned that the standard of care would drop, since the contract would have eliminated some Advanced Life Support requirements.
Since AMR has formally protested the award of the new contract, the award will be on hold, Senate President Ron Kouchi said in a Friday statement.
"I encourage the Department of Health to sincerely consider all points raised in the protest, and to continue to prioritize the health and safety of our neighbors in Maui and Kauaʻi."
The change in providers was set to begin this winter, but Gov. Josh Green said Friday there won't be any change in the foreseeable future.
"I believe that under the period of the emergency, while we're helping people recover from their loss of their clinics and their loss of their homes and lost their medications, it's probably not the right time to make any change, especially in Maui," Green said.
He said he's asked the state Attorney General to work with the DOH director of health "to pause there, and we'll work it out."
AMR has held the contract for more than 40 years.
"For decades, when any resident or visitor has called for 911 Emergency Medical Services in Hawaiʻi, they could rest assured that an Advanced Life Support unit would respond," the Maui and Kauaʻi Paramedic Associations said in a statement earlier this month.
"Every single EMS unit has been compelled to have at least one highly trained paramedic, with all the necessary ALS supplies and equipment. Any island, any neighborhood, any time."
In the statement, they called it "grossly irresponsible of DOH to remove the standard."
Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami said his office has received many concerns specific to the island's rural environment.
"(The) difference between life and death is often decided in the minutes of transport between point A and point B," Kawakami said in a Friday statement.
"It is our understanding that this procurement award is under protest and it is essential that we respect and adhere to the lawful due process involved, to ensure that the people of Kauaʻi and Maui counties receive critical life-saving emergency medical service," he continued.
