By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
It has been just more than a month since Pafford EMS started providing emergency medical services to Piedmont and the results are in.
Fire Chief Andy Logan said the response times have improved dramatically since Pafford took over services from EMSA.
“Average response time since June 1 is three minutes and 35 seconds,” Logan said. “It was approximately 20 for EMSA.”
Logan said that firefighters have responded many times with Pafford to find families “being grateful because they were there so rapidly.”
Police Chief Scott Singer said he has heard nothing but positive comments about the new EMTs in town.
“I think their response has greatly lessened the time that someone may be in serious medical trouble and need help and even in cases that are not so serious, but their response time has narrowed that gap where the useful time of rescue comes and goes,” Singer said.
“After a heart attack or a full arrest, the clock starts ticking. The average time of appropriate response is within 10 minutes. They are way under that. When people need help, they need help then, not 20 to 30 minutes down the road.”
Pafford supplies a staffed EMS ambulance and an extra ambulance on call. City council members and Piedmont Board of Education members have expressed concern in recent months about the issue of response times to home football games where accidents can cause serious injuries.
“The fire department is at every football game,” Logan said. “Barring multiple emergency calls, there will be a Pafford ambulance sitting right beside us. It’s really a blessing. We’re very lucky.”
Logan said he could not be “more pleased” with the professionalism and expertise of Pafford staff.
“We couldn’t be happier,” Logan said. “We have very high expectations and we worked with Pafford many times to put the best team together.”
Last year city council members began discussing the possibility of expanding the fire department to add EMS services to the fire department staff as an in-house service. The council approved the expansion to add bay space for two ambulances and living quarters for firefighters.
City council members voted to approve a contract with Pafford EMS because it was more cost effective to contract with a company than it was to start an in-house EMS service. The cost is $75,000 per year for the city and $7.50 a month to citizens charged on the utility bill.
Councilman Kevan Blasdel believes the service has come just in time.
“I’ve met several of the guys that work there,” Blasdell said. “They’re all good guys and also they’re busy. We’ve had quite a few calls and it’s keeping them busy.”
Councilman John Brown agreed.
“I think their performance has been exemplary and it’s doing exactly what I think we hoped it would do,” Brown said. “I think we are receiving the level of service Piedmont deserves. We were doing a disservice to Piedmont before and it was a disservice to those who needed it most. So far, it’s working perfectly. We will continue to evaluate it to see if it continues to work perfectly.”
City Manager Jason Orr said the transition from EMSA to Pafford EMS has been “flawless.”
“Mayor Thomerson and other elected officials conceptualized an improved EMS service years ago and I am proud of our administrative staff for their impeccable planning and execution that brought this to fruition,” Orr said.
