Central EMS Awarded Accreditation as an
Emergency Medical Dispatch
Center of Excellence

The National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED) awarded Accreditation as an Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of Excellence to Central EMS in 2007. Central EMS is the only emergency communications center in Arkansas, and is only the 110th in the world, to be awarded this highest distinction for their comprehensive implementation and compliance with the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) and associated “20 Points of Excellence.”

The MPDS is the world’s most widely-used 911-type pre-arrival instruction and dispatch-life-support protocol system. Central EMS has been using this system since 1997. In addition to dispatching our own ambulances and wheelchair vans, Central EMS dispatches seventeen rural fire departments on fire and first responder calls, the Washington County Department of Emergency Management, Coroner’s Office, and the Urban Search and Rescue Team. All Central EMS communicators are certified both as Emergency Medical and Emergency Fire dispatchers. (EMD and EFD)

Central earned Re-Accreditation in 2010 by maintaining the Academy standards of the “20 Points of Excellence” for dispatching.