Police Jury hires GoldWeems to investigate alleged contract breaches by former provider
By Journal Staff – Alexandria, La.
The Rapides Parish Police Jury has hired the law firm of GoldWeems to represent the parish in potential litigation against Acadian Ambulance Service, following concerns that the company may have submitted inaccurate response-time reports while under contract to provide emergency medical services.
Officials say the move is aimed at recovering fines and enforcing accountability tied to performance requirements outlined in prior agreements between the parish and the provider.
Disputed Response-Time Reporting
Under the parish’s emergency service framework, ambulance providers are required to meet strict time limits for life-threatening calls depending on the service area. In the Alexandria and Pineville region—designated as Zone 1—units are expected to arrive within eight minutes. In suburban or outlying parts of the parish, known as Zone 2, the standard extends to twelve minutes. For rural areas classified as Zone 3, response times may not exceed twenty minutes.
Providers must also submit monthly reports documenting compliance with these benchmarks. The contract allows limited exemptions—such as severe weather, blocked roadways, or other unusual events—that can justify occasional delays.
However, records reviewed by the parish indicate that Acadian excluded roughly one-third of its emergency calls each month under the category of “excess calls,” described as “periods of unusual system overloads.” That designation permitted the company to omit response times for any 30-minute period when two or more calls occurred simultaneously in the same area.
Performance Under Scrutiny
Parish officials contend that these omissions artificially inflated Acadian’s reported performance rate, which appeared to range between 80% and 90% compliance. When those exceptions are added back into the data, actual compliance reportedly falls to between 49% and 69%, far below the standards required in the contract.
Those discrepancies form the basis of the parish’s case, with GoldWeems expected to determine whether the company’s actions violated contractual obligations and if financial penalties should be imposed.
Acadian has historically defended the use of exceptions as contractually valid during high-volume emergencies. Jury members, however, have questioned whether the number and frequency of omissions were appropriate under the terms of the agreement.
Next Steps
The Police Jury’s decision to engage GoldWeems signals an effort to determine whether contractual violations occurred and to recover any damages owed to the parish.
The firm is currently reviewing service records and performance data. Once that review is complete, parish officials will decide whether to proceed with formal legal action against Acadian Ambulance Service.