MEMS began in very much the same manner as the history of our country. What started out as a need for security quickly turned into a minor rebellion and ultimately into a full blown revolution...

Many of the original employees of MEMS, who were part of the revolution, never tire of telling the story that has made MEMS one of the finest EMS providers in America. Once you’ve heard their story in all its detail, it becomes very easy to understand why they’re proud of what they’ve accomplished and have never regretted the sacrifices they made.

Although this space does not allow for a complete history to be told, there is enough detail to fully appreciate the obstacles, fears, and battles the original employees of MEMS had to overcome in order to lay the framework for a unique and successful EMS provider. MEMS is unique because unlike most other EMS companies, they do not require any subsidies or government assistance to maintain financial solvency. MEMS is a not-for-profit organization that provides competitive wages and benefits to their employees. They own, operate, and maintain state-of-the-art equipment. They enforce the highest standards of medical care available, and MEMS is one of a handful of EMS providers in the United States to be nationally certified on the basis of patient care, business practices, community involvement, and public accountability.

But this wasn’t always the case… Here is their story…

In 1983 the largest EMS provider for the Little Rock area was a company known as Medic-Vac. They were the largest in terms of how many transports they handled, but they were not the best in terms of employee compensation and benefits. Most of the employees were earning minimum wage at that time. To help better their position personally, the employees decided to join the Teamsters Union. Needless to say, the owner of Medic-Vac was not pleased by their decision. During this same period, David J. Jones, who was a prominent businessman, began working with the City of Little Rock to establish and develop a public utility known as the Little Rock Ambulance Authority. Due to an accident that involved one of his relatives, he became acquainted with the current condition of EMS providers within the city, and wanted to do what he could to stabilize a necessary, but unstable industry. At that time, there was no guarantee that a “for profit” EMS provider would be available to serve the citizens if they decided to leave or could no longer operate within the city due to financial stress. It became David’s mission to ensure that emergency services would be available regardless of market conditions or profitability. One of the goals of the Little Rock Ambulance Authority was to secure an exclusive franchise agreement by an EMS provider to guarantee the services that the city needed. The specification drawn up by the Little Rock Ambulance Authority was based on industry standard expectations found in other cities with the same population as Little Rock. Some of the requirements could not be met by many of the emergency medical services operating within the city limits.

Faced with the unionization of the Medic-Vac employees and the possibility of being replaced as the primary EMS provider in Little Rock, the owner of Medic-Vac filed a lawsuit against the city. He was hoping to challenge the legality of the Little Rock Ambulance Authority in order to prevent a public bid for emergency services which he was not confident that his company could win. Meanwhile, the working conditions of the Medic-Vac employees continued to deteriorate. Their demands for improvement consistently fell on deaf ears. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before everything would unravel.

After 9 months of legal battles and employee unionization the implosion at Medic-Vac in Little Rock began. On May 22, 1984 a Medic-Vac crew was notified of a motorcycle accident on Vimy Ridge Road. The patient was suffering from massive internal bleeding. After the EMS crew arrived on scene and made their assessment, it became obvious that MedFlight would be needed in order to transport the patient. Once MedFlight was notified, the EMS personnel, fire fighters, law enforcement and a handful of private citizens worked hard to give the patient the best chance of survival. It was one of those rare events where everything came together like clockwork, and everyone walked away knowing they had saved someone’s life.

As the EMS crew returned to their base, they made conversation of the fact that they could not reach the dispatcher, which was highly unusual. Unknown to them at the time, the dispatcher had been terminated and ordered to leave the premises. Once the crew arrived, they were immediately terminated as well. It took very little time for the rest of the employees to hear what had happened. Everyone was outraged, particularly since this was a clear violation of the union agreement.

An emergency meeting was held at the Teamsters Union hall the following morning. The union representative agreed that Medic-Vac had violated their contract and offered to pursue the matter to the best of their ability. However, because the employees were not fully vested with the union (which takes 12 months), the Union could not offer much assistance. If Medic-Vac declined to offer the employees their jobs back, then their only recourse was a full blown legal battle. It was estimated that this could take as long as 2 years to resolve, given their legal standing. The employees quickly decided that this was not a viable option for them. Under normal circumstances a Union would call for and support a strike, but this was not possible. The employees intentionally omitted this option from their contract because they didn’t want the public to suffer from any lapse of service due to employee or employer disagreements. Although the Teamsters wanted to help the employees, it became apparent that they wouldn’t be able to offer any practical assistance.

The media coverage during this time became very intense. On one occasion, a Medic-Vac supervisor resigned on live television. Rumors were running rampant. Employees were not only out of a job, but they had no where to go. Until the dust settled, the employees were considered off limits by the industry. It seemed their darkest hour was upon them… but as they say, “small doors will sometimes open into larger rooms.” David Jones opened the small door they were desperately looking for.

The following day a meeting was held with the Little Rock Ambulance Authority. Slowly but surely, all of the cosmic tumblers began to click. The solution they discussed that day wouldn’t be easy, but it was certainly possible. Two questions drove the spirit of that meeting. The Ambulance Authority wanted to know if the employees could provide emergency response services immediately (that day, that hour, if necessary), and the employees wanted to know if the Ambulance Authority would be willing to take the legal and financial risks that were sure to come? The answer to both questions was an uncompromising “Yes!”

With the confidence of both parties in place, the Ambulance Authority began a myriad of phone calls and consultations in order to put their contingency plan in place as quickly as possible. The employees involved  who were still employed by Medic-Vac decided that they would all quit together at 12:00 pm (high noon) on Friday, May 25th, 1984. They initially thought this would give them enough time to retrieve their belongings and pick up their paychecks. The Ambulance Authority had told them that they might have to wait for at least 30 days before they could receive their next paycheck, and to expect some lean times in the months ahead. But it didn’t matter to them. Even though they knew all too well that the chances of the Ambulance Authority succeeding would be a long shot, they simply had enough of Medic-Vac and were gambling on a brighter future.

As fate would have it, the management at Medic-Vac became aware that something serious was about to happen, so the employees moved their “mass resignation” time to 10:00 am. By the time the employees gathered in the parking lot, the local media and law enforcement officers were already there. Once all the employees arrived, they collectively went to the office to tender their resignations, but the office door was literally slammed in their faces. A rude and abrupt ending to one chapter of their lives became the beginning of a whole new story for those who would stick together during the next 3 to 4 years.

Having heard of the events that transpired, the city council declared an emergency meeting at 1:00 pm the same day. All of the employees who walked out went to the meeting and explained the events that had taken place over the previous 2 weeks. In order to keep the public as safe as possible, the employees volunteered  to provide services for the city until something permanent could be arranged. The council was impressed by their dedication and immediately voted unanimously to empower the Little Rock Ambulance Authority to take over all aspects of EMS for the city. Mike Kumpuris, who would become one of the founding board members of MEMS, spoke up for the employees and successfully pleaded with the council to provide compensation for their services.

Although the future was very uncertain, those who were optimistic (David Jones, Mike Kumpuris and many of the employees) knew that they had not only witnessed history, they made it happen. It would be great to end this article by saying that everyone lived happily ever after, but it didn’t exactly work out that way, and nobody expected it to, at least not right away. In the beginning, MEMS operated with 4 used ambulances that were loaned by other EMS providers in Searcy, Conway and Pine Bluff. MEMS immediately went into debt as they waited for new equipment and supplies to arrive. While the new headquarters and communications center was being built at their current location on 8th Street and Ringo, the employees were working out of an old fire station that was located on South Pulaski Street. With only $60,000 in revenue and $275,000 in expenses each month (due to loans, payroll, operations, etc), it didn’t take long for MEMS to accumulate almost 3.5 million dollars worth of debt.

Executive Director Karen Muldrow had just resigned to move, so the the board of directors began the search for an Executive Director who was experienced in the medical field. John Rapp, who was a successful hospital administrator, became the first Executive Director of MEMS. With his financial acumen and solid leadership abilities, he was able to make MEMS profitable within 3 years. Having accomplished his mission, John left the company in 1988.

The next Executive Director was Bill Martin. He would be the driving force behind MEMS for the next 10 years. Through his tenure MEMS would grow dramatically. Being guided by frugal and aggressive business practices, Bill continued to build on John’s success and became instrumental in the following areas:

• Expanding their service area to include Grant and Lonoke counties, North Little Rock, Maumelle and most of Pulaski County.
• Tripling the employee base to a little over 200 employees.
• Creating a state-of-the-art communications center.
• Increasing the fleet size to 26 new ambulances.
• Purchasing equipment and training employees to be Nationally Certified in handling and responding to Chemical and Biological hazards.
• Creating a dedicated, stand alone maintenance building for keeping the fleet in top condition.

As in the case of John Rapp, Bill Martin accomplished his mission and left the company in 1998. If you were to look at MEMS in 1998, it wouldn’t be difficult to see that John Rapp was the person MEMS needed in the past, and Bill Martin as the person who was needed in the present. This perspective best explains their current Executive Director, Jon Swanson. He definitely fulfills what MEMS required for the future.

Jon Swanson came to MEMS in 1998 after serving for 25 years in the Air Force as a pilot and a Colonel. When Jon first arrived, many employees were unsure of what they could expect from a “military type” entering into a civilian enterprise. Some were of the opinion that we would all be going back to boot camp and “snapping” a salute whenever he entered the room. The reality is that he offers the salute to the employees, not literally, but practically. Some thought he wouldn’t have a clue about the EMS business until he showed up one day with an NREMT patch on his shoulder in search of a truck, a Paramedic and a shift to work. A few surmised that he would be strict and go by the book. Which he does, but he’s also fair, reasonable and approachable. Still others wondered if he would be too conservative and not keep up with emerging trends within the EMS industry. But in the last 6 years, Jon has paved the way for MEMS to be recognized on a national level. Some of the improvements during this time include the following:

• Development of a dedicated training center.
• Creation of an on-site EMT and Paramedic school.
• Expanding their service to include a Paratransit system (wheel chair van service)
• Doubling the size of the communications center using the latest technology available.
• Deploying “Black Boxes” in all ambulances and support vehicles.
• Significantly increased the utilization of technology within the business center.
• Modernizing and expanding the security system.
• Implementing an advanced patient care data collection system within the ambulances.
• Upgrading their microwave equipment to handle encrypted, wireless data and voice traffic.
• Adding a full time quality control department with highly trained personnel
• Overseeing the necessary changes required to qualify and obtain National Ambulance Service Quality Certification (MEMS was 87th in the nation, and 3rd in Arkansas to receive this award in 2001)
• Raising the professional and occupational standards of field personnel. Those who failed to meet these standards were let go after repeated attempts to increase their quality.
• Increasing the standards of those seeking employment at MEMS.
• Laying the groundwork for direct communication with politicians in both Arkansas and Washington D.C.  to improve the EMS industry and Medicare reforms.
• Retaining the continuing services of a well known Medicare legal expert from New York to help insure their billing practices are above reproach.
• Establishing the LRAA collections agency to manage their own delinquent accounts in order to provide  lower income patients with the ability to make easier payments for the services they utilized.
• Through various methods, he has continuously pursued a proactive effort to openly and frequently communicate with employees, the media, the public and surrounding communities about the activities and direction of MEMS.
• MEMS service area now includes Conway and Faulkner county. As a not-for-profit entity, MEMS is responsible for one of the largest service areas in the United States.
• MEMS has been featured in 3 full length documentaries (2 on TLC, and 1 on NBC) for the express purpose of knowing who they are, and how they operate.
• Following Jon’s lead, the employees of MEMS raised over $26,000 for FDNY after the 9/11 incident. 3 of MEMS' employees also spent a week in New York to help with their recovery.

With each Executive Director, a new chapter has been written in the history of MEMS. An EMS company that  started out as a rag-tag crew of fiercely dedicated personnel with no promise of a secure future has since become a stable company that has never relied on public funds. Not only is MEMS a profitable organization, but it has grown into the premier EMS provider in the state and now has garnered the attention of the nation.

Where are they headed in the future? No one knows. They’ve set a standard that can’t be abandoned because there are other EMS providers out there trying to emulate the same success. They are also fully committed to maintaining the trust and respect they’ve gained from the public who depend on them. Right now they’re meeting the highest national standards, but some day they expect to set the standards that others will follow.

Thank You, Arkansas!