County leaders are very impressed with the direction of the ambulance services that have been provided to the area over the last two months.
In dealing with previous contracts, lack of communication and response times were a thorn in the side of the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors. But with Pafford EMS, the supervisors said the new contract is a breath of fresh air.
“We have never had this before,” said Supervisor Cobie Collins, holding a Pafford report. “This is a first for us.”
Representatives from Pafford presented a detail report of its call log and response times for the month of May during the county board meeting Monday afternoon. Jack Willingham, emergency management director, said Pafford remains in contact with him on a daily basis.
With about 430 calls coming into Pafford during May, the average response time was about 12 minutes.
“Considering the size of Yazoo County, that is an acceptable time,” Willingham added.
Supervisor Jayne Dew personally thanked Pafford for its professionalism and promptness after an accident that recently occurred in front of her own house.
“I was so impressed with the compassion that your people showed,” she said. “I was very impressed. I thought the compassion was over and above.”
Freddie Parker, with Pafford, said there have been ambulances on the scene in Yazoo County at all times since the company entered into its contract in late March.
“All three ambulances are completely staffed,” Parker said. “There are no open holes. Since we have started on March 31, we had only had few hours where one truck was down, and that was due to illness. And we have not had a single maintenance issue.”
Of the employees on staff with Pafford, there are about five people from Yazoo County.
“Don’t put yourself in a bind, but I have to say that we are interested in hiring Yazoo people.”
Willingham also noted that there is a free 40-hour first responder class that can generate interest in the paramedic field locally. He said lack of qualifications or those interested in the field has been the challenges in hiring local people.
“With classes like this that are offered for free, you will draw interest from some of the volunteers who may not have chosen the field,” Willingham said.
Chris Marble, with Pafford, said community outreach will also contribute to local hires.
“We are working on community outreach where we can go to the local high schools and organizations,” Marble said. “We are going to try to put together a program.”
Overall, Parker said he is pleased with Pafford’s presence in Yazoo County.
“We have had u to six units in Yazoo County at one time,” Parker said. “We have not had an incident where we have not had an ambulance to send to a call.”
Communication among Pafford and county leaders has greatly improved, Collins said.
“Communication is a key thing,” Willingham added. “That is what we needed, and that is what we are getting.”
