As the Police Jury’s Ambulance Service Control Board moves toward the first transition of emergency medical response management in 30 years, the board’s membership is also shifting.

At a Thursday meeting, board chair Dr. Paul Coreil, chancellor at LSUA, said local fire chiefs around the parish will fill some of the seven board seats along with the ambulance contract administrator, Joshua Dara.

That group will oversee the transition as Pafford EMS, with its Louisiana operations headquartered in Ruston, takes over the role from Lafayette-based Acadian Ambulance after more than a year of assessment by the ambulance board and plenty of wrangling and intense discussions. The decision was made by a 5-4 Police Jury vote ending a meeting over about five hours in April, and was unanimously ratified by the Jury earlier this month in response to a formal challenge by Acadian.

During Thursday’s meeting, the framework of oversight of Pafford’s takeover was outlined by the board, which intends to glean reactions from local police and fire departments and seek input from parish residents during monthly meetings to continually evaluate Pafford during its probationary first year of the five-year contract.

Alex Pafford, who is the Louisiana director of operations for the new provider, said during the meeting that he and other Pafford personnel have begun a productive dialog with local elected officials and other community leaders.

He told the board that Pafford has been involved in 30 such transitions taking over ambulance service responsibilities in the past five years and each has been successful.

“This will be no different,” he said.

Pafford’s “Air One” helicopter will be housed at Lake Buhlow where a hangar and storage facility will be built. The Pineville headquarters should provide the best access to area trauma centers, he said, and improve response to rural residents in the north half of the parish.