After losing the contract to provide ambulance service for Rapides Parish, Acadian Ambulance has filed a challenge to retain it.

The Rapides Parish Police Jury voted 5-4 on April 10 to award a five-year contract to Pafford Emergency Medical Services, which has its Louisiana headquarters in Ruston.

Acadian Ambulance, based in Lafayette, has been the parish contract provider for 30 years.

After nearly a year of review and discussion, the jury held a special meeting April 10 that reportedly lasted about five hours.

Voting for Pafford to take over were jurors Parish Giles, Randy Harris, Bubba Moreau, Jay Scott and 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.

In its challenge, received Wednesday by the Police Jury, Acadian questioned Pafford’s filings in the bidding process and said the scoring system used by the jury was flawed.

The challenge will be considered by the jury with a deadline to rule by May 23, per state law.           

In a possibly related development, Acadian announced the hiring of Pafford’s former Louisiana chief operating officer Shane Davidson as its Louisiana community relations director in a posting on its Facebook page earlier this week. Davidson is a ULM graduate with 35 years of industry experience, the announcement said.