By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

Arkadelphia native J.D. Windham knew from a young age that he wanted to help people during emergencies. As a teenager he happened upon a car crash — the first person to arrive at the scene — but had no medical knowledge to provide the injured with the aid they needed. Fast-forward through several years of training and education, and Windham is now approaching his second decade of being a professional in emergency medical services.

Acknowledging that there aren’t enough ambulances in the area to transport people between hospitals — especially on the occasions when paramedics are busy responding to 911 calls — Windham got the idea to add an ambulance service to South Arkansas. Headquartered in Arkadelphia, J.D. and wife Kristen started operating Valor Emergency Medical Services in November 2022.

“Arkadelphia seemed like the perfect location for us,” J.D. said.

The Windhams are quick to point out that they’re not in competition with Baptist Health’s ambulance service, but rather that Valor EMS is an additional resource for emergencies in Clark County, as well as for hospitals in the region. Of the three staffed ambulances that are available 24/7 in Clark County, two are managed by Baptist Health and one is managed by Valor. In the event of a catastrophe or when there is a shortage of ambulances, Valor is available to add another “rolling emergency room” to the streets. Likewise, if a hospital patient needs to be transported to another medical facility but the EMTs are busy responding to medical emergencies, an additional ambulance service like Valor can move patients from hospital to hospital.

Valor EMS generally serves hospitals within a 60-mile radius of Arkadelphia, although the company does make transports throughout the state — and even some out of state. Valor owns two ambulances and employs 15 EMTs and paramedics. The operation is located at 1021 N. 10th St.