LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (MEMS) – The Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), broke ground today for the organization's new headquarters. The new facility will address the critical need to protect their employees during inclement weather with a structurally hardened dispatch area and an emergency back-up generator.
"Our city is extremely fortunate to have an emergency medical services team such as MEMS," said Hon. Mark Stodola, mayor of Little Rock. "The dedicated men and women who work day and night to provide urgent medical care to our citizens should be commended and we appreciate all you do for our community."
With more than 38,000 square feet, the new headquarters will feature an EF4 rated shelter for the communications and IT departments, along with a new disaster kitchen, larger training facility and onsite fueling. In addition, the new facility will have a 9,200 square foot training area with 4,000 square feet of classroom and instruction space. Each year, MEMS provides training for employees totaling more than 30,000 hours. In 2014 MEMS transported more than 66,200 patients.
"For more than 20 years, we've been able to sustain operations in our current facility but as Central Arkansas grows and technologies advance, we need to make sure that our facility is up to date so that we can continue to meet the needs of Central Arkansans," said Jon Swanson, executive director of MEMS. "Our focus has always been and will continue to be on the people and communities we serve and to ensure that we are always providing every patient personalized, compassionate and professional medical care."
Mayor Stodola also presented a proclamation to MEMS dedicating this week as EMS Week, a national recognized initiative to provide emergency medical services a significantly greater visibility among other health professions and communities.
MEMS is partnering with Nabholz Constructing, who will build the new headquarters, in addition to Cromwell Architects. The new facility is scheduled to be completed August 2016.
(Source: Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services)
