Effective March 1, 2022, Pafford Medical Services became the provider of emergency medical services for the City of Conway and Faulkner County. Headquartered in Hope, Arkansas, Pafford Medical Services is the largest ambulance provider in the state. The family-owned company was established in 1967 and offers all forms of pre- and post-hospital health care in numerous communities across four states.
While the transition from the previous EMS provider was seamless, residents of Conway and Faulkner County can expect some positive changes, said Clay Hobbs, chief operating officer at Pafford Medical Services.
More Ambulances. Faster Response Times.
Pafford Medical Services has a total of seven advanced life support, or ALS, ambulances located throughout Faulkner County: four in Conway at each fire station and one apiece in Greenbrier, Mayflower, and Vilonia. Two additional BLS, or basic life support, ambulances are available to transfer patients to and from hospitals and are staffed with emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
Hobbs said Conway and Faulkner County have not only more ambulances than ever before but also more locations where these ambulances are stationed. Rather than depart from a central location during an emergency, Pafford’s ambulances are located throughout the county at fire stations, leading to faster response times. This setup is in response to the City of Conway’s request that its new EMS provider integrate more closely with the fire department.
“What we were able to do was put the ambulances out into local communities at fire stations so that they are closer to people who are calling into the fire stations for help,” Hobbs said. “This was done to make sure we could get to homes and businesses faster when someone calls 911.”
Hobbs said this integration with the fire departments also enables first medical responders to “plan together, train together, and respond to calls together” as one unified system. Since being selected as the EMS provider for Conway, Pafford Medical Services also has worked closely with Conway Regional Health System, Baptist Health Medical Center—Conway, and other health care providers to establish protocols and plans of care for patients.
“Every call that comes into us at Pafford is extremely important,” Hobbs said. “We understand that it’s a family member, a loved one – someone’s parent, child, or spouse – that we’re coming to take care of. It’s usually the worst day of that patient’s life, and the person calling us for assistance expects us to help make that bad situation all better.
“We want to make sure we’re providing the absolute best clinical care with the best equipment,” Hobbs said. “It takes coordination with all of our health care facilities to do that.”
High-Quality EMS Operations
Pafford operates one of the most sophisticated, clinically advanced ambulance services in the country. The City of Conway and Faulkner County received a new fleet of state-of-the-art ambulances. All the company’s ALS ambulances are equipped with life-saving equipment – such as intubation and airway management tools, transport ventilators, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, and CPR devices – along with highly trained paramedics who can administer advanced life support care and medications.
In addition to providing high-quality EMS operations, Pafford Medical Services looks forward to establishing a strong presence in Conway and Faulkner County as an involved community partner and corporate citizen.
“Pafford Medical Services is a community-based, family-owned company,” Hobbs said. “And we want to make sure we’re visible in the community so that when somebody needs us at 2 a.m. and welcomes us into their home, they recognize the faces of Pafford and are familiar with our Team.
“We take our responsibility in the community seriously. We want to make sure residents of Conway and Faulkner County have the absolute best when it comes to emergency medical care and transportation.”