Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

According to Official -- Baptist To Continue Gurdon Operations

Gurdon is in no danger of losing its ambulance service.

Tom Tobin, unit supervisor with emergency and ambulance service with Baptist Medical Center of Arkadelphia, said there has been some confusion of late concerning ambulance service in Gurdon.

However, he said, Baptist has no plans on leaving the community, and wants to be a good citizen in Gurdon.

"There seems to have been some confusion at the last (Gurdon City) Council meeting," he said, "as to whether we would be here or not.

"We've been getting about three calls a day asking when we were leaving. We have no plans to leave.

"We're committed to the people of Gurdon," Tobin continued, "and want to be part of this community."

Tobin said the ambulance service in town is Gurdon's ambulance service, and will remain so.

Baptist is leasing the building which houses the service from St. Joseph's Mercy Medical Clinic next door. Tobin said St. Joseph's has already granted permission to expand the ambulance services and allow a second bay to be added on.

However, before this expansion can take place, the city must condemn and close the alley where the second bay will be built.

The reason for the extra bay is to make sure the ambulances are housed indoors. "We can't leave them (ambulances) outside," Tobin said.

Additionally, he said, the ambulance currently in Gurdon is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment, which includes a Lifepak 10 defibrillator for cardiac patients.

Baptist has three crews in Gurdon, with all but one being from the area. Three members of the ambulance service are Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), while the other three are medics.

All six, Tobin said, are certified by the Arkansas Department of Health. The medics, he said, are also state and nationally certified.

"Gurdon has the same equipment (in the ambulances) Arkadelphia has," he said. "They are emergency rooms on wheels."

In addition, Tobin said, the ambulance is taken to ball games in case of a problem, and is sent out to fire scenes with the Gurdon Fire Department. "If they go out, we go out," he said.

Tobin invites the residents of Gurdon to visit the service and talk with the crews.

"We're here to help," he said. The ambulance service personnel will also give free blood pressure checks on request.