Parish residents will have a new ambulance service provider for the first time in 30 years.
Police jurors Thursday selected Pafford EMS as the exclusive ambulance service in Rapides Parish for the next five years with a 5-4 vote.
After nearly a year of review and discussion, the jury held a special meeting that reportedly lasted about five hours.
Voting for Pafford to take over were jurors Parish Giles, Randy Harris, Bubba Moreau, Jay Scott ad Craig Smith.
Supporting Acadian were Danny Bordelon, Sean McGlothlin, Ollie Overton and Randy Wiggins.
Weeks ago, the jury’s Ambulance Advisory Committee recommended Pafford EMS based on a scoring system that weighed factors such as response time, available ambulances, and certified staffing. The scoring margin was a mere one percent better than Acadian.
LSUA chancellor Dr. Paul Coreil is chairman of the Ambulance Advisory Committee.
Pafford is home to over 900 full and part-time employees that staff more than 120 ambulances, three helicopters, three fixed wing aircraft, two state of the art communications centers, and one billing center across a four-state region.
The Pafford corporate headquarters for Louisiana and Arkansas are located in Ruston.