EMS Week: More than a job. A calling.

2 | MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING | Friday | May 18, 2012

Maine Emergency Medical Services Available and ready to help Maine Emergency Medical Services Director: Address: Phone: Fax: Email: Medical Director:

Jay Bradshaw 152 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0152 (207) 626-3860 (207) 287-6251 MEMS@maine.gov Matt Sholl, MD

From dispatchers to first responders, firefighters to emergency medical service professionals, Maine’s communities are safer because neighbors are caring for neighbors.

And in 2012, EMS Week celebrates the fact that EMS isn’t just a job; It’s a calling.

Region 1: Southern Maine EMS Online: Address: Phone: Fax: Email: Medical Director: Coordinator:

www.smems.org 474 Riverside Industrial Parkway Portland, ME 04103 (207) 741-2790 (207) 741-2158 smems@smems.org Marlene Cormier MD Marc Minkler

Region 2: Tri County EMS Online: Address: Phone: Fax: Email: Medical Director: Coordinator:

www.tricountyems.org 300 Main Street Lewiston, ME 04240 (207) 795-2880 (207) 795-2883 lebrunj@cmhc.org info@tricountyems.org Rebecca Chagrasulis MD Joanne LeBrun

Region 3: Atlantic Partners EMS Online: Address: Phone: Fax: Email: Medical Director: Coordinator:

www.apems.org 71 Halifax Street Winslow, ME 04901 (207) 877-0936 (207) 872-2753 office@apems.org Timothy Pieh MD Rick Petrie

Region 4: Atlantic Partners EMS Online: Address: Phone: Fax: Email: Medical Director: Coordinator:

www.apems.org 354 Hogan Road Bangor, ME 04401 (207) 974-4880 (207) 974-4879 office@apems.org Jonathan Busko MD Rick Petrie

Region 5: Aroostook EMS Online: Address: Phone/Fax: Email: Medical Director: Coordinator:

www.reg5ems.webs.com 111 High Street Caribou, ME 04736 (207) 492-1624 arems@maine.rr.com Peter Goth, MD Steven D. Corbin, EMT-B

Region 6: Mid-Coast EMS Online: Address: Phone: Fax: Email: Medical Director: Coordinator:

www.apems.org Thompson Community Center P.O. Box 610, Union, ME 04862 (207) 785-5000 (207) 785-5002 office@apems.org Whitney Randolph DO Rick Petrie

This custom publication was produced for Maine EMS by the following Bangor Daily News advertising staff:

Advertising sales: Linda Hayes and Alysha Steltzer; Layout: Debra Bell; Editorial: Debra Bell, David M. Fitzpatrick, Sheila Grant, Dale McGarrigle, Brian Swartz; Photography: Debra Bell, Brian Swartz, BDN file photos, and supplied photographs Cover photography: Michal Heron Photography

MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING | Friday | May 18, 2012 | 3

More than bright lights and sirens: EMS is about people

By Debra Bell BANGOR DAILY NEWS

Emergency Medical Services: It sounds simple, right? For most people, EMS professionals would be the key responders in the emergency field: police, fire, and ambulance.

But EMS is much more than those high profile professions. EMS also includes: Ambulance personnel, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, dispatchers, emergency room staff, and even helicopter or boat responders.

According to Jay Bradshaw, executive director of Maine EMS, it “really is a statewide system.” That system includes 6,000 licensed EMS providers who are responsible for providing care to patients in a wide geographic area.

“There are more EMS providers [in Maine] than ER doctors,” Bradshaw said. “For people in communities [who have] emergency needs, providers are there to help. They come 24/7, 365.”

They also come for non-emergency needs too, Bradshaw said. That means providing medical transportation for patients who are not able to transport themselves, such as from a nursing home to the hospital and vice versa.

EMS professionals also conduct CPR and first-aid trainings, conduct playground safety inspections, car seat safety checks, helmet safety checks, administer flu vaccinations, and more.

“EMS has a role in injury prevention and community health,” he said.

On the job to keep people safe Maine’s first EMS professionals

responded exclusively to car crashes. It wasn’t until the mid-60s, that EMS professionals began receiving training in institutional medicine.

“Over time, training expanded to responding to other medical emergencies,” Bradshaw said. “Then it turned to the public health side.”

Call volume has increased over time as well, he said. “In the early 1980s, EMS responded to 75,000 calls per year,” he said. “Last year, [Maine] EMS responded to about 300,000 calls.”

As the population of Maine ages, a highly trained EMS force is imperative to keeping people safe, sound, and at home.

Rural communities, in particular, BDN PHOTO BY GABOR DEGERE will “always need EMS providers” to provide the interim care that is crucial A LifeFlight helicopter takes off from the scene of a fatal accident in the southbound lane of I-95 in Alton in 2008. Two to survival.

See ABOUT, Page 4 people were pronounced dead at the scene and two others were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

RFGH Celebrates EMS Week!

Caring for the Community!

Thank you to the RFGH EMS Team for providing life-saving care, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

• RFGH EMS provides a Paramedic on every emergency call.

• 16 Paramedics; 10 EMTs on staff • 3 Ambulances • Coverage provided for Athens, Brighton, Canaan, Cornville, Mercer, Norridgewock, Skowhegan and Solon.

Call 9-1-1 in an emergency.

REDINGTON FAIRVIEW GENERAL HOSPITAL (207)474-5121 / www.rfgh.net

4 | MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING | Friday | May 18, 2012

Redington-Fairview EMS

Isle au Haut Rescue

Dianne Barter is the chief of Isle au Haut Rescue. She is also the only member of the department on island to serve about 35 year-round households. The basic EMT service usually includes one other volunteer over the summer, and a couple of “on and off ” volunteers, Barter said.

Emergency calls come to Barter via a Knox County Emergency Communications dispatcher, or a call to her home phone, and sometimes because people simply turn up on her doorstep. Barter is hoping to educate the public to always go through 9-1-1, because she also holds several jobs (including captaining the morning mail boat and caretaking island homes) and isn’t always home.

Anyone becoming ill or injured on Isle au Haut should be prepared for a ride in the back of Barter’s truck; there is no ambulance.

That will be followed by a seven-mile ride to Stonington aboard whatever boat is available, or a wait for the mail boat to come from the mainland if no other vessel is available. In Stonington, patients are met by the Memorial Ambulance Corps out of Deer Isle.

“We have a great summer community with lots of doctors, and I don’t hesitate to call

BDN PHOTO BY DEBRA BELL

Dianne Barter, chief of Isle au Haut Rescue.

them,” Barter said. Summer residents with medical concerns call Barter to let her know of their special needs because they often feel that “they can’t come out unless I say we can figure something out. But knowing they can call somebody if something does happen gives them an added sense of security.”

By Sheila Grant

Redington-Fairview EMS, licensed at the paramedic level, has one paramedic on every ambulance for emergency calls in Skowhegan, as well as the towns of Norridgewock, Mercer, Canaan, Cornville, Athens, Brighton Plantation and Solon.

“It’s the highest level of care for ground EMS in Maine,” said Barbara Demchak, EMS director. Paramedics are licensed to do procedures and administer medications beyond what first responders and EMTs are allowed. The service has 35 staff members, 16 full-time and the rest per diem.

Another facet of the RedingtonFairview mission is to take an active role in the community via CPR education, classroom visits, job fairs and standing by at local sporting and community events, she said.

“It sounds trite, but it’s a calling,” said Demchak. “The only routine part of our day is morning chores – checking the ambulance for supplies, getting it

About Continued from Page 3 “It’s really important work,” he said. “It becomes part of your DNA. And as population sprawl takes place, people are living more away from the hubs [of major cities].”

What many people don’t realize about the Maine EMS system is that not every responder is paid. Many towns rely on volunteers to be the responders. And for volunteer EMS professionals, the profession becomes more than just a job. It’s truly a calling.

“Anecdotally, there seem to be more people who see this as a way to make a difference,” Bradshaw said.

EMS: In unexpected places Being an EMS professional doesn’t mean just fires, accidents, and medical emergencies. In fact, EMS pros are found in a variety of unexpected places.

For instance, EMS pros offer: • Playground inspections • Inhalant abuse training • Assistance for kids with special healthcare needs • Response to sexual assaults, domestic violence reports, and response for elder abuse • Bike helmet checks • Educating civic groups • Car seat safety checks • Safety fairs at local schools • Assistance developing safety plans • Suicide prevention programs And soon, Bradshaw noted, some EMS organizations may be expanding their traditional role to include community health outreach.

scrubbed, doing paperwork. After that, there is no order to the day. People who like a lot of structure, this job would make them crazy!”

It takes individuals who enjoy the challenge of meeting varied needs during each call, she said. “They are also people who enjoy people, and see the joy and opportunity in chatting with patients from every walk of life.”

By Sheila Grant

That’s because, due to the legislative efforts of Michael Willette (R), a state Representative for House District 5 which includes Presque Isle, LD 1837 “An Act To Authorize the Establishment of Pilot Projects for Community Paramedicine” was passed. The legislation is the first step in a pilot project that would allow for community support services to be provided through public health and prevention services.

Paramedicine in Maine

Rep. Willette, an Army combat medic during Desert Storm, understands the importance of paramedicine.

“The idea behind community paramedicine takes the work done by Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics to a new level,” he said. “The benefits of a vibrant community paramedicine program would lead to a reduction in MaineCare costs paid by the state for unnecessary ambulance trips to the hospital and expensive procedures that are most times non-essential.”

Other benefits, he noted, could be seen in added value for the patient. Instead of traveling to a medical facility, the patient could be treated at home. Not only that, he said, the patient would benefit from added education and skillsets. It’s also a good way to save money on unnecessary transports and to keep elderly people at home instead of a nursing home.

A pilot program will be launched in 2012 to study paramedicine and its effects on the community.

“This has the ability to expand healthcare and at a lower cost,” Bradshaw said. “Hospitals like it, the community likes it, the patient likes it.”

MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING | Friday | May 18, 2012 | 5

When is your emergency a 9-1-1 emergency?

By David M. Fitzpatrick BANGOR DAILY NEWS

Tracking down a deputy’s name. Asking for phone numbers to other departments. Finding out when the parade starts. Checking whether the roads are safe to drive on during a storm.

These are just some of the examples of misuse of the 9-1-1 system. It’s rare that police issues summonses, and when they do it’s usually for blatant abuse — drunk dialing or repeated misuses after warnings. Most folks don’t mean to misuse 9-1-1 and don’t even realize that they do. But these misuses hamper the system, which is designed for real emergencies. The trouble is, many of us perceive events as emergencies when they really don’t qualify.

“I think, by definition, 9-1-1 is intended for life or death emergencies,” said Michael Smith, director of the Somerset County Regional

Communications Center, which serves all of Somerset County and 19 municipalities in Kennebec County, including Waterville and Augusta. “[But] I think there are some instances where reports of assaults, burglaries that you’ve discovered — they may not necessarily be life or death emergencies, but … warrant quicker and more prompt response.”

But cats in trees, someone stole your garden gnome last night, and looking up the movie-theater number don’t count. Yes, people often dial 9-1-1 by mistake when they intend to dial 4-1-1 (information) or 21-1 (community-services information).

At the same time, what one person considers an emergency, another might not.

There are no specific rules as to what constitutes an emergency.

“Everybody’s emergency is their emergency,” Smith said. “For some people, a neighbor’s dog roaming on their front lawn

is an emergency.”

The 9-1-1 dispatchers practice the “When in doubt, send ‘em out”credo, on the logic that it’s better to send out first responders that aren’t needed than not send them and wish you had.

Still, Smith prefers that people consider the appropriate venue before making a call. In a time of crisis, it could make a huge difference.

For example, during a crisis at the Sagadahoc County Regional Call Center, the operators answer calls in the order they appear.

During a real disaster, it’s vital for dispatchers to get to those real emergency calls. The time it takes to triage a call and identify it as a non-emergency could mean the difference between life or death for the next caller.

It can work in reverse, too, with callers not treating events as emergencies when perhaps they should. One night when working dispatch, Smith received a call from an elderly woman looking for the non-emergency num-

ber. After he gave her the number, she called it and a dispatcher sitting next to Smith answered it. Turns out the woman had a prowler outside her house — clearly an imminent danger that qualified as an emergency.

“The elderly are so afraid that they’re bothering somebody,” Smith said.

One woman called looking for the nonemergency number, and later called 9-1-1 back to thank them for their help. Her heart was in the right place, and it sounds amusing, but during a crisis 9-1-1 operators may be dealing with more life-threatening emergencies.

Smith says Mainers need better education, and his profession needs to provide it.

“As a state, I think we’ve done a terrific job of promoting 9-1-1 as an emergency number,” Smith said. “I think what we really need are some public-service announcements, I think that would go a long way to just kind of refresh people on what 9-1-1 is intended for.”

Searsport Ambulance Service

The Searsport Ambulance Service has two paid employees and 20 paid on-call volunteers that staff their two ambulances. The service is licensed to the Basic EMT level, and permitted to the Paramedic level.

“In Maine, you are licensed to the level you can reasonably guarantee every single time,” said Director Cory Morse. “We have paramedics on as well, so we are permitted up to the paramedic level.” The service has mutual aid pacts with other communities throughout the region. An aging population often calls for illness rather than trauma.

The Searsport crew is there because “they want to help people in need as a way of giving back,” said Morse. Benefits to the community

include rapid response, and a friendly, familiar face that “brings a level of comfort.”

Searsport is hoping to become a two-year test site in the Community Paramedicine Pilot Project, which Morse said will “bring a different level of medical service to the community.

“Under the paramedicine model, EMS providers can “use their existing scope of practices in non-traditional ways,” including drawing blood from shut-ins and doing home checks on people recently discharged for post-surgical care.

“It’s one thing to call 9-1-1. It’s another to have an ambulance service practicing preventative and well care. I think it’s exciting.”

By Sheila Grant

Celebrating EMS Week!

Thank you for the outstanding clinical care, and exemplary dedication and service to the residents and visitors of West Central Maine. We thank you!

NorthStar: The Ambulance Service of Franklin Memorial Hospital Maine Ambulance Association

Working Together For Maine! www.the-maa.org • 207-873-0427

Bases in: Farmington, Livermore, Phillips, Rangeley, and Carrabassett Valley

BDN FILE PHOTO

Searsport EMS respond at the scene of an assault in 2009.

Searsport is hoping to be chosen for a pilot paramedicine program this year.

6 | MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING | Friday | May 18, 2012

New and seasoned pros agree: EMS is all about the passion BDN PHOTO BY DEBRA BELL

By Debra Bell

Steve Smith (left) and Tom Doak (right) stand in front of NorthStar’s ambulance in Livermore Falls.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS

For experienced and new Emergency Medical Services professionals alike, being in the field isn’t about the job: it’s about the passion.

es on site. It started with IVs, then defibrillators. With the appropriate training, and a big boost coming from the TV show ‘Rescue 9-1-1’, very exciting stuff began to happen.”

Appropriate training included being able to do more for the patient while on site or en route, he said. That’s partly due to more training, more in-depth training, and the support of the medical community.

“In 25 years I’d love to come back and see where we’ve come to,” Doak said.

The time-tested EMS provider

Livermore Falls EMS professional, Tom Doak started in the field in 1957 as a firefighter when he was 16 years old. The same passion also drew him into a career in EMS at NorthStar Emergency Medical Services. Doak became a volunteer for Rangeley Ambulance in 1969. Today, as the Certified Quality Inspector Coordinator for NorthStar Emergency Medical Services in Livermore, he’s seen the profession change over four decades. “[When I started] there was no licensing, no training, no real guidance,” Doak said.

“We took standard and advanced first aid — a 16-hour course — mostly on bandaging and splinting.”

At that time, ambulances didn’t really exist. Instead, he said, he initially worked out of a Cadillac station wagon when it came to transporting people with medical issues to the nearest healthcare facility.

As technology improved and training was offered, Doak and his colleagues were trained in new technology, new lifesaving techniques, as well as emergency care that addressed a variety of situations including childbirth.

When Doak started out, medical care was more basic; today it is far more complex and is aided by computers and advances in medicine.

“In the 1970s, we began being licensed,” Doak said. “I got my original EMT license in 1973. In 1980, I went on to the intermediate

The new face of EMS

level [of licensing]. In 1991-92, I earned my paramedics license and then I started doing this full-time.”

But what drew him to EMS was the opportunity to make a difference.

“I was very much a red-lights and sirenhead,” he said, but it was the community aspect that really drew him to the vocation.

“You see a lot of people at the worst point in their lives and you have the ability to make a difference. Very few jobs out there had that opportunity. I’m not in it for the money. I enjoy the work.”

As the EMS profession adapted, changes became coming more frequently partly due to legislation and partly due to technological improvements.

“A lot of things done in the field were guarded by MDs,” Doak said. “Slowly we began being trained to provide these servic-

Steve Smith, began his career in EMS as a police officer. But now, as a paramedic, he understands how important it is to make a human connection when helping those in crisis.

Smith, became a police officer in 2003 in the town of Jay. Through that position, he was called to respond to all emergency calls.

Many times, he was the the first on the scene.

“I really got interested in it when I watched the medical side of things,” Smith said. “My dad is a doctor and my mom was a nurse, so I grew up always hearing about medicine . Going out on calls [as a police officer] was amazing and intriguing.”

But the call that solidified his interest in EMS was a call that he was involved with on a policing level. The patient had fallen and an ambulance was called. Once on the scene it was evident that she was not getting along with the ambulance crew.

“She wasn’t making sense and didn’t want their help,” Smith said. Since the police were on scene, the ambulance left and Smith was talking with the woman. What had seemed like an everyday scenario turned into a situation where the patient was having a stroke.

“She didn’t want to go with them because she said they ‘were not nice’,” he said. “I took her to the hospital [in] the cruiser and I learned later that I had just saved her life.

That really got me.”

From that moment on, Smith said he was hooked on the patient care side of EMS. He took a basic EMT course through Foster Technical Center and adult ED.. In July 2005, he received his license and was hired full time right away, possibly because of his police background.

He began his EMS career with Doak in Livermore. In 2008, he moved up to work in the Farmington area, and became a supervisor.

As an EMS professional, Smith believes it’s important to make sure that every question ultimately comes down to what’s right for the patient.

“I like being able to help people through their time of need,” he said. “I can help someone through their medical crisis and help them find out what’s wrong. It’s the problem that gets me [interested]. I like to figure things out. As a police officer I was always trying to figure things out. My motto is there are three parts to every story: Yours, mine, and the truth.”

Seasoned professionals benefit MEMS Smith credits his training as a police officer as being as beneficial as his medical training.

See EXPERIENCED, Page 7

WHEN EVERY SECOND COUNTS... Count on us.

PROUD TO SUPPORT EMS WEEK

The Stroke Center at

Pen Bay Medical Center

Training Opportunities with North East Mobile Health Services

An award-winning stroke center recognized for quick response and quality of care.

TRAINING CENTER    

ACLS PEPP PHTLS AMLS

For more information on training call

207-510-0073 Gold Seal Certified for the 5th year in a row!

www.pbmc.org/stroke

North East Mobile Health Services  24 Washington Ave Scarborough, ME 04074

MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING. | Friday | May 18, 2012 | 7

Generations of Pros: The Long Family, Aroostook County

By Debra Bell BANGOR DAILY NEWS

For Pat Long, becoming an Emergency Medical Service professional started when he was a high school student.

“A longtime member of the [Ashland Ambulance Service] service back then [in 1974] they needed a driver for a call and the EMT at the time told me to get in and drive, I did and was hooked ever since. I worked as a driver for a while then became a First Responder. I then worked my way to become a Licensed Ambulance Attendant, then an [an Emergency Medical Technician] basic, then an Intermediate, then a Paramedic.”

Long took a hiatus from school and EMS work to enlist in the military and after the military worked in a saw mill. After surgery on his

Pat Long

hands, he went back to school and became a full-time EMS professional for Ashland. After three years of working full time for Ashland, he took over as director and learned all the parts of the service.

The calling of the EMS profession came from helping others and it’s a family affair in the Long fam-

Experience Continued from Page 6

“It’s a combination of skills and calming people through talk that helps in a lot of calls,” Smith said.

Today’s EMS professionals have the ability to call into the medical center and get instructions and advice en route to create a better patient care situation.

When Doak started out, medical care was more basic. Today is far more complex and is aided by computers and advances in medicine. As the medical community continues to support EMS, patients benefit from faster and smarter care.

ily. His wife, Tracy is an intermediate EMT-Intermediate with 15plus years of experience and their son Christopher is an EMT-basic for five plus years. Tracy adds, “He was always talking about EMS and we tried it to be involved in his passion and low and behold we loved it too”. “ Caring for townspeople, many of them we have known all our lives, was just so rewarding.”

In addition to his work with Ashland, Pat is a member of the Ashland fire department. Long’s daughter Danielle is also a member.

Being so remote and from such a small community it seemed like the right thing to do. I soon learned I loved it and really never looked back.”

In many parts of Maine, including northern Maine where Long works, EMS professionals care for residents over a wide-spread area.

Long knows this well because EMS

And the EMS community makes certain to focus on better patient care to have nothing but successful outcomes.

Part of those successful outcomes comes from experienced professionals working with today’s newer EMS pros.

“It’s going to be neat to look into the future as our leaders are always putting one foot forward to give us top of the line equipment,” Smith said.

For the professionals who have paved the way, the future is exciting too.

“The [ability of the newer professionals] to retain the information that’s beyond me makes me thrilled to death knowing that when I leave the profession, I’ll leave it in good hands,” Doak said.

professionals in Ashland’s service area provide emergency medical care to residents in a service area that covers about 2,350 square miles.

“What would folks do if we weren’t here and or had to wait for an ambulance to come from another location,” he said. “I really choose not to think about it and thank the Lord we don’t have to do that.” It’s a team effort and what a team of people we have, without all of them the team fails.

EMS professionals, Long said, are a special breed of people.“We adapt and deal with the challenges head on,” he said. “Aroostook County is no different than anywhere else, just a little more remote and further for a local hospital. People see and support these services and many go above and beyond to help.”

That’s important to being a member of the community, he said. “We do our best, all the time, period,”

Long said.

“We do and we see a lot of what most folks would turn and run away from but if we don’t do it, who will? It is a calling and not meant for all folks but most folks [who stay involved with EMS] will tell you they love it, and to be 100 percent honest I do too.”

EMS is a profession that Long believes is important for any person who wants to make a difference.

“If there is anyone who thinks that they may want to work in EMS, give it a try,” he said. “Consider [asking to do] a ride-along and see what [it’s like]. You won’t know until you do and if it is a profession that you choose to do you won’t regret making that decision.

The first person that gives you a hug and says they were so glad that you were with their loved one will [convince you] that the career that you chose was the right one.”

Pownal Fire and Rescue Pownal Fire and Rescue serves the town of Pownal, and provides mutual aid to Durham, New Gloucester, North Yarmouth and Freeport. The volunteer fire department members get a stipend based on call time, but as volunteers, they are not required to show up.

Still, they do.

“They do what they do because it’s a way to help the town that suits them,” said Dick Hogue, deputy chief. “When I first got to town, I was on a lot of different boards. You do a lot of talking about things and not much happens.

With the fire department, you go there, you have a very direct protocol to follow, you do

your paperwork, and go home. The job is done, and done correctly, and that’s that.”

The fire department is also licensed to provide first responder care and has several members who are Basic or Intermediate EMTs. They are often first on scene, and stabilize patients until an ambulance arrives. The majority of their medical calls are for elderly patients. Having local first responders benefits the community because, “we can get there so quickly, and people know us,” said Hogue.“It’s a friend walking into your house. That’s a great comfort.”

By Sheila Grant

8 | MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING | Friday | May 18, 2012

Generations of Professionals: The Pare/Jordan family

By Debra Bell BANGOR DAILY NEWS

In many communities, it’s not unusual to see EMS units full of relatives. For one Maine family, EMS is a tradition.

A son’s calling: Christopher Pare

For Christopher Pare, the EMS Program Manager for Maine Medical Center and per diem paramedic for Wells EMS, giving back is in his blood. He joined the junior fire department on his fourteenth birthday in 1988 and two years later he received his first EMS license: “Licensed Ambulance Attendant”.

When he was just starting out in the EMS field, he volunteered with the primary EMS provider for Waterboro, the Waterboro Fire Department.

“I have fond memories of working there and am always thankful and proud that I was able to make my start there as a junior member of the department,” Pare said.

“Some of my earliest memories are of hanging out at the fire station with my parents, who were both involved at the time. It seemed like a natural progression for me.”

Pare’s family had EMS in its blood. His uncle, once involved in EMS is now a physician. A cousin is an EMT-Intermediate. His mother and father both were EMS providers in the fire department. His wife is a paramedic. And Pare credits so much of his family influence on his choice of profession.

“I enjoyed the feeling of helping people and my community,” he said. “I do think that looking up to my family members and feeling that the firefighters and EMS providers that I spent so much time with were also ‘family’ encouraged me to make a career out of EMS.” That career doesn’t come with a glamorous lifestyle, Pare noted.

“I believe EMS is a calling. It takes a special person to leave their families for hours at a time not only to respond to calls for service but also to maintain their state and

national licenses, train, and prepare,” he said. “There is not much glamorous about EMS: it’s incredibly stressful, you are most often seeing people at their worst, during perhaps their darkest hour, during the cold, mud, rain, sleet, or tourist seasons. You get vomited on, bled on, spat upon, and called things that would make most folks blush.

Every once in a while however, you know you have made a difference in somebody’s life, and that makes all of it worth it.”

Pare volunteers for the community he lives in as a volunteer for the Acton Ambulance Association and Acton Fire Department.

A mother’s dedication: Virginia Jordan Pare’s mother, Virginia Jordan, echoes much of her sons views. Jordan is licensed as a paramedic, but is currently inactive. She is, however, working as the Practice Nurse for Maine Medical Partners General Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care Unit.

When she was active in EMS, she and Chris both worked together at Wells EMS

and at Waterboro Fire Department. She got her start by taking an advanced first aid course while raising three small children.

Jordan knows, for instance, that EMS is much more than just a ride to the hospital or responding to an accident. Especially in rural areas, EMS “is the provider of basic and emergency care as well as the helping hand, listener, tea maker and shoulder to cry on. They are also the [blood pressure] takers, well-being checkers, get my remote from behind the couch, and fund raisers. It isn’t just about the ride to the hospital in an ambulance.”

But the calling of EMS is more than just responding to emergencies. It’s about being there for people when they need help most.

“It is a calling,” Jordan said. “You have to love helping people, even if it is getting the remote at midnight. You have to be brave and a little crazy to jump into the EMS life.

I have to say that the EMS people you work with, see on the street in passing or have never met are in fact your family too. A phone call is all it takes to prove that.”

Ambulance Service Inc. Ambulance Service Incorporated in Fort Kent has a staff of 25, including five Paramedic Inter-Facility Transfer Training certified paramedics.

“We can go above and beyond the paramedic level as far as transfers are concerned, using more equipment than they are trained for in a regular paramedic program,” said Gary Gardner, assistant director. “Our nearest trauma center is in Bangor [Eastern Maine Medical Center], so we’re looking at almost 200 miles.”

Volunteers are paid to be on call, and

varying amounts depending upon the type of call. Gardner said it takes a special group of people to do this work.

“They like helping people, but along with

that, there’s a sense of accomplishment,” he said. “There’s a crisis and you’re thrown into it and have to work your way through chaos to bring order, and you get results, and once

that happens to you, you get withdrawal symptoms and you want to go back and do it again.”

Ambulance Service Incorporated has ambulances located in four Aroostook County communities and provides emergency care 24/7 for patients involved in trauma or with medical conditions.

“We try to respond to them within a certain number of minutes,” said Gardner.“It’s a service that every community needs, for sure.”

By Sheila Grant

PROUD to SUPPORT Maine Emergency Medical Services

Insurance products are: not a deposit; not FDIC insured;not insured by any federal government agency; and, not guaranteed by TD Bank, N.A. or any of its affiliates.

Insurance products are offered through TD Insurance, Inc. TD Insurance is a service mark of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. Used with permission.

BDN FILE PHOTO BY KEVIN BENNETT

MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING. | Friday | May 18, 2012 | 9

Generations of Professionals: The Gagne Family, Turner

By Debra Bell BANGOR DAILY NEWS

Anyone from Turner will tell you that the “go to” person in their community when there’s an emergency is Laurel Gagne.

That’s because Laurel is a driving force in Turner Fire and Rescue. While she doesn’t go on calls anymore, she does manage the radios from command central located in her living room.

“Mother likes to say she can’t [respond to emergency calls] any more, but she’s still the one people call to get opinions,” her son

Ross said.

Ross Gagne, is an Emergency Medical Technicial and the assistant rescue chief. His mother, Laurel, is the rescue chief.

“We still have a chats every morning about what’s going on,” he said.

Laurel raised a family of EMS professionals: in addition to Ross her daughter, Cheryl Burgess, works as an EMS professional in Alabama, sister Carol is an EMT-Intermediate, granddaughter Amanda Hebert serves as a dispatcher, and Ross’s wife, Brenda, dispatches.

Taking care of her community always came natural to Laurel. Her husband,

United Ambulance Service United Ambulance Service, owned by Central Maine Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, provides emergency and non-emergency medical transportation for patients throughout Androscoggin County.

“We also provide medical transport via our wheelchair van service, which is for the most part non-emergent, pre-scheduled transfers,” said Paul Gosselin, executive director. United Ambulance also has an education department that provides Basic and Intermediate EMT, and Paramedic courses.

The ambulance service has three primary bases in Lewiston, Auburn, and Bridgton, and provides back-up to smaller services in surrounding communities. It is licensed at the Paramedic level, meaning that at least

one Paramedic is aboard for emergency calls. Non-emergent transport helps patients unable to travel in a regular vehicle from one medical facility to another, or from home to an appointment with a medical care provider. In those cases, employing a wheelchair van provides great cost savings over an ambulance, Gosselin said.

“We pick them up and provide door-todoor service,” he said. “It provides a good service to the community, and better fiscal responsibility.”

Gosselin said there are a “potpourri of reasons to do this work, including public service, liking to help people, a desire to work in the medical field, and the excitement.”

By Sheila Grant

Lawrence, was one of the founding members of the Turner Fire Department. He served as Turner Fire Chief for 42 years.

Laurel, started Turner Rescue in 1978, and has served as its chief since the beginning.

Turner’s Fire and Rescue team covers the towns of Turner, Hartford, and Leeds with three trucks. Their first rescue garage, he said, had “emergency” vans in it initially.

After they got the ambulance, it was also housed in the family barn.

Laurel, who served as a principal of Leavitt Area High School, was “always interested in medicine.” As the principal, many times emergency medical service was left up to her. She took the necessary trainings and became licensed as an EMT through what was then called Civil Preparedness, now known as Emergency Man-

agement.

“This was something [my husband and I] did together,” Laurel said. “I was the one who got licensed and then he [got licensed].

He was one of the first 16 in the state to be licensed. I believe in giving back [to the community].”

Ross said he got into EMS because he wanted to follow in his parent’s footsteps.

“I always liked fire [fighting] and I like EMS,” Ross said. “We have patients who, when we come to them, they give us hugs.”

Laurel and Lawrence have also been honored with a Jefferson Award, an award from the American Red Cross twice by the Board of EMS; in 1989 Laurel was given a Special Merit Award, and in 2003 both Laurel and Lawrence were given Lifetime Achievement Awards by Governor Angus King.

Honoring the EMS Team at Sebasticook Valley Health Thank you for providing life-saving care every day.

10 | MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING. | Friday | May 18, 2012

Dispatchers offer guidance while help arrives

By Dale McGarrigle BANGOR DAILY NEWS

One little girl from Winn is fortunate that the dispatchers at the Penobscot County Regional Communications Center are so skilled at their job.

Around 3 p.m. on July 9, 2011, a call came in to PCRCC from a father reporting that his 2year-old daughter had fallen into a shallow well and was unresponsive when he pulled her out.

Tim Hall, a senior operator and shift supervisor, took the father through, step by step, how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and revive his daughter.

By the time Chad MacArthur, an intermediate emergency medical technician for Mattawamkeag Ambulance Service, arrived at the child’s home on Route 168, she spat up water and took a breath. MacArthur scooped her up and they all rushed to

Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln.

Because Hall and the girl’s father started the process by going through those steps over the phone, “We have a little girl that is still with us,” Jim Ryan, the communication center’s executive director, said at the time.

While such an event may seem remarkable to the public at large, Ryan said dispatchers give vital medical instruction every day.

“They deliver babies, they do emergency medical dispatching, they help with CPR,” he explained.

The voice of confidence at the other end of the phone, dispatchers at the Penobscot County Regional Communications Center may make their work look easy, but it’s anything but. The competence that the 30 employees of the center display comes from years of training and experience.

So what makes a good dispatcher? Tracey Erickson, who has been a dispatcher for more than 20 years and a supervisor since

Saluting the everyday heroes who serve our region so ably.

May 20-26

2001, had some ideas.

“Someone who can multi-task,” Erickson said. “You may have a radio in one ear, a phone in the other, and be typing at the same time. Also someone who can make good decisions quickly.”

That’s evident in the large room on the third floor of the former courthouse on Hammond Street in Bangor that now houses PCRCC. Eyes and hands flit over the five screens in front of each of the six dispatchers on duty as they field calls.

At the heart of it is the emergency medical-dispatch protocol system. It’s now a software program that dispatchers use to solicit crucial information from the callers.

“The dispatcher puts in the caller’s problem, and the program supplies questions that the dispatcher needs to ask,” explained Ryan.

“Each answer drives you to the next question. The process has to be followed exactly.”

Ryan urges the public to follow the dispatcher’s lead. “People should be patient with the basic questions, especially on the medical calls. The dispatch is going to have to ask a few questions before they roll the ambulance, which is frustrating to people.

The exceptions are the calls when somebody’s not breathing, when the ambulance is started immediately,” he said.

The center fields all the 9-1-1 landline calls in Penobscot and Aroostook counties and dispatching for fire, police and emergency medical services in all Penobscot County except for the City of Bangor and the University of Maine, which handle their own dispatch.

The center handles the most emergency dispatch calls of any agency in the state. In March, the center took 3,929 9-1-1 calls, with 1,111 of those requiring emergency medical dispatch.

The center’s success starts with a rigorous

Did You Know...

screening and training program. A new employee starts by sitting through oral boards, then undergoing a background check and other testing, including polygraph, hearing, and drug screenings.

Then he or she is assigned to a field training officer for up to 20 weeks of training, including entry-level dispatcher and certified fieldoperator schools, emergency medical dispatch, CRP training, and licensing by Maine EMS. All told, it could take up to six months to get the chance to become a dispatcher.

Then comes getting comfortable in the chair.

“You may know how to do it, but you have to build that self-confidence,” Ryan said. “You start out second-guessing yourself, but self-confidence comes with time, and it becomes second nature.”

Each dispatcher must take 24 hours of training every two years to maintain certification.

In addition, Erickson is responsible for the center’s quality-assurance program.

Each week, she listens to one fire, one police, and one EMS call for each dispatcher.

Once processed, the filled out forms will be directed to the supervisor and reviewed with the dispatcher.

That set-up seems to be working. Maine EMS required a 90-percent rating of calls handled correctly, with PCRCC running around 97 percent.

“The hours can take their toll,” Erickson said. “It’s no Monday-to-Friday job. There will be downtime when nothing’s going on, then something horrendous happens. Or it can be so busy that you’re sitting there for three to four hours straight. A lot of times, we don’t know the outcomes of the calls.

Sometimes you have to take a walk or talk with somebody after a hard call. It’s a very stressful job. Some of the things you hear you just can’t believe.”

We’re Proud and Ready to be Part of the Team... t St. Joseph Hospital’s Emergency Department, we salute our region’s Emergency Medical Technicians. The Emergency medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital would like to say “Thank you” for your hard work, dedication and extraordinary service to our patients and our communities.

We are proud to be part of the extended team of emergency providers.

A

...Always Prepared for Life’s Emergencies At St. Joseph Hospital all patients are greeted promptly in our Emergency Department. Nurses and providers work quickly to evaluate the needs of each patient. Our goal is to provide quality, timely and comfortable care.

Your Doctors l Your Technology l Your Choice l Your Hospital

www.cmmf.org Central Maine Medical Center • Bridgton Hospital • Rumford Hospital

Charles F. Pattavina MD, FACEP Medical Director

St. Joseph Healthcare St. Joseph Hospital

In the Spirit of Healing Sponsored by Covenant Health Systems Founded by the Felician Sisters

360 Broadway l Bangor, Maine l www.stjoeshealing.org

12 | MAINE EMS: MORE THAN A JOB. A CALLING. | Friday | May 18, 2012

Army Continued from Page 11

guide that problem-based training.”

Plans called for the flight medics to participate in the trauma education classes this summer, but the 126th Medical Co. recently deployed to Kuwait.

The unit’s flight medics “will be part of this program” in 2013, Batsie said.

The Pentagon has recently decreed that during the next three years, all Army flight medics must obtain certification as civilian flight paramedics. “It’s a national accreditation,” Mark Urquhart said. “All [Army] flight medics must have it by fiscal year 2017. It’s the only job in the Army that has a civilian credential.”

Among the certifications that all Army flight medics must acquire are advanced cardiovascular life support, pre-hospital trauma life support, and pediatric education for pre-hospital providers, described by Deborah Urquhart as “the specialized emergency care that kids need.”

For flight medics scattered among Army aviation units worldwide, similar

on-site training like that offered in Bangor is not always available. To obtain certification as civilian flight paramedics, 322 current Army flight medics must attend college to do so.

With EMCC already training Maine ARNG flight medics, school officials have proposed a five-semester curriculum suitable to training Army flight medics who would attend classes in Bangor. “We’ve only had these preliminary discussions so far,” Batsie said.

“Mark [Urquhart] came to us and said the Army has this need.

“Their vision was to link up with us and create a flight medic program,” he said.

A draft curriculum was presented in February to Col. David Smith, the ARNG’s state aviation officer. This curriculum would “augment what they (EMCC instructors) currently teach with some Army training to make sure the flight medic training we are proposing is what the Army needs,” Mark Urquhart said.

For Army flight medics attending college in Bangor, “we can take care of their soldier needs here at the 126th,” Mark said.

Pentagon officials must approve the EMCC proposal, which the Maine Army Guard strongly supports.

Sagadahoc County Communications Center The Sagadahoc County Communications Center, located in the county court building, dispatches police, fire and EMS services throughout the county, in addition to handling non-emergency and business calls for all the public safety agencies in the county.

Now, thanks to Emergency Medical Dispatch training, dispatchers can also provide medical pre-arrival instructions to the patient or caller in order to help the patient until the ambulance arrives.

Brodie Hinckley, Communications Director, said having EMD protocol to follow allows dispatchers to provide appropriate medical instructions to callers who may be “witnessing the worst thing in their life.”

Before EMD training, dispatchers legally could not provide

medical,first-aid instructions.

“The person who called felt helpless. Now, the caller can receive medical instructions, and provide first aid to the patient; it gives the caller something to focus on, and after the fact, the caller can feel like they did something to help provide a chance for that person’s survival.” Medical instructions provided by emergency medical dispatchers include CPR, helping a person who’s choking, controlling bleeding, emergency childbirth, directing a chest pain patient to take aspirin, and use of an automatic external defibrillator.

A panicked caller may want to blurt out the “who and what” first, but the address of the emergency, and number being called from, are most important, so that if the connection is lost, dispatch still knows where to send help, and can try to call back. Once those facts are secured, it’s time for the caller to share what happened, so that dispatch knows what medical instructions to give, and what types of rescue (police, fire, medical) to send.

Brodie said it takes a special type of person to dispatch, one who likes to be involved in the whole process rather than specializing in only fire safety, law enforcement or EMS. “A dispatcher gets a little bit of everything,” he said.

By Sheila Grant

Maine’s only Verified Level 1 Trauma Center.

The only place you want to be in an emergency.

Maine’s leading emergency department is also the state’s only ACS Level 1 verified trauma center,* the highest standard of emergency care in the nation. On average, our professional and committed staff sees a new patient every 9 minutes, treating any medical emergency with a personal touch – there’s even a dedicated pediatric space. It takes an entire hospital to make an emergency department shine; that’s why Maine Medical Center has more specialists than any other hospital in the state. Because in an emergency, you can never be over-prepared.

www.mmc.org *American College of Surgeons Level 1 designation is the highest level of emergency care.