LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An up-close look at how winter weather is making emergency responses more difficult throughout central Arkansas was provided by a ride-along with a Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services ambulance.

Over the course of the weekend, MEMS has increased staffing and added more ambulances online, placing many units farther out in more difficult-to-reach areas to help speed up response times while the icy conditions persisted.

Crews identified abandoned cars as one of the biggest risks they face on the roads during the ride-along.

“The biggest thing I’ve seen today is when people get stuck in the road they’re just abandoning their vehicle and then that becomes a hazard for the other drivers,” one MEMS crew member said.

MEMS claims that despite some difficulties, the volume of emergency calls has stayed comparatively low thus far, enabling the availability of more units. Jaime Brown, the operations shift supervisor for MEMS operations, demonstrated the agency’s live response map and described how crews are tracked in real time.

“So all of the green units are available and on post, the red units, the one’s tagged in red are on emergencies, the one’s in yellow aren’t on emergency, the ones in white are out of service for various reasons,”

Many of the units on the response map showed green and available, but Brown said conditions could quickly change as more drivers return to the roads.

“When restaurants start to open back up and more stores are open, they’ll get out to venture for supplies or just because they’re tired of being in the house,” Brown said. “Then there’s more traffic on the road, then about dark it starts to ice back over — that’s when we really see the increase in accidents again.”

As crews navigate slick roads, Brown said balancing speed and safety remains a constant challenge.

“It’s hard to manage sometimes, between the radio traffic, watching the other drivers on the road, and then just watching for the icy conditions yourself,” he said.

MEMS officials say fewer vehicles on the road make it easier for ambulances to reach emergencies and help keep call volume down.

“If you don’t have to be out, don’t get out,” said MEMS Operations Director Chris Marshall. “I mean the roads are not the best, even though the road crews have been working night and day they’re still not the best. If you don’t have to get out stay at home. If you do have to get out, just use extreme caution.”

First responders are urging anyone who must travel to avoid overconfidence on icy roads and to carry an emergency kit in case conditions worsen.

Little Rock, Ark. – The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is proud to recognize 48 hospitals, 38 ambulance services, 3 regional teams, and 3 individuals for outstanding performance in stroke patient care during July 2024 through June 2025. Awards are based on key performance measures from the Arkansas Stroke Registry, including defect-free stroke care, stroke band documentation, and door-to-CT times, as well as EMS pre-notification practices that improve patient outcomes statewide.

“Arkansas’s healthcare professionals continue to demonstrate exceptional dedication to improving stroke care,” said Bala Simon, MD, DrPH, Deputy Chief Medical Officer and State Chronic Disease Director at the Arkansas Department of Health. “Their teamwork, commitment to quality, and focus on timely, evidence-based care are helping save lives and strengthen outcomes for patients across the state.”

The three award classes are based on the level of adherence, including:

• Diamond: 95%+
• Ruby: 90% – 94.99%
• Pearl: 85% – 89.99% or 75th+ percentile

Hospitals; CDC/Coverdell Defect-Free Stroke Care*:

Large (Bed Size > 150)

Diamond

• • NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital
  • Washington Regional Medical Center

Ruby

• • CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System
  • Conway Regional Medical Center
  • Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas
  • St. Bernards Medical Center

Pearl

• • Baptist Health Medical Center – North Little Rock
  • Mercy Hospital Fort Smith

Medium (Bed Size 51 – 150)

Pearl

• • Baptist Health Medical Center – Hot Spring County
  • Siloam Springs Regional Hospital
  • Northwest Medical Center – Bentonville

Small (Bed Size < 50)

Diamond

• • Mercy Emergency Department – Springdale

Ruby

• • Mercy Emergency Department – Bella Vista
  • Mercy Hospital Paris

Pearl

• • St. Bernards Five Rivers Medical Center
  • White River Medical Complex Emergency Department

*To be eligible for a Defect-Free Care Award, a hospital must be stroke designated either through ADH or other accrediting body such as The Joint Commission. A hospital may also qualify for a Pearl award if performance is in the 75th or higher percentile among its designation group.

Hospitals; Door to CT Times:

Large (Bed Size > 150)

Pearl

• • CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs
  • Conway Regional Medical Center
  • Jefferson Regional Medical Center
  • National Park Medical Center
  • Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center
  • South Arkansas Regional Hospital
  • Washington Regional Medical Center

Medium (Bed Size 51 – 150)

Diamond

• • Mena Regional Health System

Ruby

• • Baptist Health Medical Center – Drew County
  • Great River Medical Center

Pearl

• • Baptist Health Medical Center – Hot Spring County

Small (Bed Size < 50)

Diamond

• • Chicot Memorial Medical Center
  • Eureka Springs Hospital
  • Izard County Medical Center
  • Lawrence Memorial Hospital
  • Mercy Hospital Booneville
  • Mercy Hospital Ozark
  • Mercy Hospital Waldron
  • Sevier County Medical Center
  • South Mississippi County Regional Medical Center
  • St. Bernards Five Rivers Medical Center

Ruby

• • Baptist Health Medical Center – Stuttgart
  • Mercy Emergency Department – Bella Vista
  • Mercy Emergency Department – Springdale

Pearl

• • Bradley County Medical Center
  • Dardanelle Regional Medical Center
  • Ozarks Community Hospital
  • Unity Health – Newport

Note: Data for the Door to CT within 25-minute measure is filtered to only include cases documented to have a last known well-to-arrival time within 24 hours.

Hospitals; Stroke Band Documentation:

Large (Bed Size > 150)

Diamond

• • Baxter Regional Medical Center
  • Mercy Hospital Fort Smith
  • Saline Memorial Hospital
  • White River Medical Center

Ruby

• • Baptist Health Medical Center – Little Rock
  • Baptist Health Medical Center – North Little Rock
  • Conway Regional Medical Center
  • Helena Regional Medical Center
  • NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital
  • North Arkansas Regional Medical Center
  • St. Bernards Medical Center
  • Washington Regional Medical Center

Pearl

• • Baptist Health Medical Center –Fort Smith

Medium (Bed Size 51 – 150)

Diamond

• • CHI St. Vincent North

Ruby

• • Mena Regional Health System

Pearl

• • Baptist Health Medical Center – Hot Spring County
  • Ouachita County Medical Center

Small (Bed Size < 50)

Diamond

• • Dardanelle Regional Medical Center
  • Izard County Medical Center
  • Mercy Hospital Booneville
  • Mercy Hospital Waldron
  • St. Bernards Five Rivers Medical Center
  • White River Medical Complex ER

Ruby

• • Chambers Memorial Hospital
  • South Mississippi County Regional Medical Center

Pearl

• • Lawrence Memorial Hospital
  • Mercy Emergency Department – Bella Vista
  • Ozarks Community Hospital

EMS; Pre-notification – High Stroke Volume (> 20 Runs):

Ruby

• • Bentonville Fire Department
  • Centerton Fire Department

Pearl

• • Air Evac Lifeteam
  • Central EMS
  • Crossett Fire Department
  • El Dorado Fire Department
  • Jacksonville Fire Department
  • Liberty EMS Service
  • Monticello Ambulance Service
  • Siloam Springs Fire Department
  • Southwest EMS
  • West Memphis Fire Department

EMS; Low to Medium Stroke Volume (3 – 20 Runs):

Ruby

• • Med Trans – Hospital Wing

Pearl

• • Eureka Springs Fire Department
  • Mercy Lifeline
  • NEBCO EMS
  • Newport Ambulance Service
  • White River EMS

EMS; Stroke Band Documentation; High Stroke Volume (> 20 Runs):

Diamond

• • Crossett Fire Department
  • West Memphis Fire Department
  • El Dorado Fire Department
  • Riverside EMS

Ruby

• • Bentonville Fire Department
  • Centerton Fire Department
  • Central EMS
  • Med-Tech EMS
  • MEMS
  • NorthStar
  • ProMed
  • Sebastian EMS and Rescue
  • Spring River Paramedic Ambulance Service
  • Vital Link

Pearl

• • Dumas EMS
  • Fort Smith EMS
  • Jacksonville Fire Department
  • Johnson County EMS
  • Madison County EMS
  • Monticello Ambulance Service
  • Ouachita County Medical Center
  • Pinnacle EMS
  • Pope County EMS
  • Siloam Springs Fire Department
  • Southwest EMS
  • Springdale Fire Department

EMS; Stroke Band Documentation; Low to Medium Stroke Volume (3 – 20) Runs:

Diamond

• • City of Des Arc
  • McGehee Fire and Ambulance
  • Newport Ambulance Service
  • Piggott Community Hospital EMS

Pearl

• • Southeast EMS

Regional Care Awards

• Coverdell Defect-Free Care – Northwest
• Door to CT Times – Southwest
• Stroke Band Documentation – AR Valley

Transition of Care Awards

This recognition honors healthcare providers for the exceptional work they did with stroke patients and/or their families as part of the patient’s transition of care.

• • Lacey Wheeler, RN & ED Director – AR Methodist Medical Center
  • North Arkansas Regional Medical Center ICU Nursing and Case Management team

FROM KARK.COM

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Paramedics have to be ready for everything, but on Sunday, a Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) first responder experienced his first-ever animal rescue. It wasn’t a cat or a dog. It was a raccoon with a soup can stuck around its head.

Stewart Uzzell’s ambulance had just gone online at 5:30 A.M. for a 12-hour shift. Before he and his partner could leave the parking lot, he heard the sound of rattling rings of a can bumping into walls, followed by the sight of rings on a twice-masked bandit’s tail,

“I saw this little raccoon running down the side of the road with his head stuck in the can, and we thought, ‘Oh no. We’ve got to help this thing,'” Uzzell said.

Uzzell saw the raccoon heading toward traffic, so he and other paramedics scooped up the critter. They say its fur was packed so tightly inside the can that they could not pull it off, and they worried how much oxygen the raccoon was getting.

“He stayed pretty calm. Just kind of pet him like you would a house pet, and he probably sensed something good was going on,” Uzzell remembered.

The first responders’ can-do attitude came in handy. As did their ambulance, equipped with specialized shears and a ring cutter.

“They split the can down the side enough for us to work it out,” Uzzell said.

The raccoon instantly was in a hurry. The “souper” heroes called out, “Be free”, as the animal ran off to find his next meal. Uzzell said even though it was his most unique patient, his approach was the same as always.

“Just helping with somebody or something in distress, and if you can lend a hand, do so. Render aid,” Uzzell stated.

An Arkansas MEMS crew was sent to Florida to assist with emergency response efforts as Hurricane Milton is set to make landfall later this week.