After receiving numerous complaints about the quality of emergency ambulance services in recent months, Yazoo County has hired a new service provider.
The Yazoo County Board of Supervisor voted this week to hire Pafford EMS.
MedStat, which was previously providing ambulance services to the county, and ASAP were the other two companies bidding for the job.
Cobie Collins, president of the Board of Supervisors, said what made Pafford EMS stand out above the others was that the company agreed to purchase three brand new ambulances to serve Yazoo County and to have a fourth on standby.
Pafford also has a helicopter based in Clarksdale that can be used if the medical helicopter in Jackson is tied up. Pafford’s helicopter can make it to Yazoo City from Clarksdale in about 25 minutes.
The Board of Supervisors listened to proposals from all three companies this week.
MedStat, which previously provided services to the county, had been the subject of complaints about response time in recent months. MedStat officials said that the problems with service were largely due to the void in local management following the death of Winston Jones. Staff shortages and aging ambulances were also problems. MedStat recently hired three new employees.
MedStat officials said they would hire a local manager based in Yazoo County.
District 4 Supervisor Jayne Dew said the board isn’t convinced that MedStat would have a local manager in place quickly.
“Winston has been gone for over a year so how do we know you are going to do what you say you are going to do?” Dew asked.
MedStat officials explained that most of the complaints had been over the last three months, and that’s when they realized a full time local manager was necessary.
“I felt like this wasn’t given attention, and it has to have attention,” Dew said. “We want to make sure that we don’t ever get back in the same shape we’ve been in during these last three months.”
