Ambulance board acts to locate new site for office, base

Moving quickly, the Washington County Emergency Medical Services Authority (WCEMSA) has begun negotiations with Baileyville as the potential site for its ambulance service and administrative office. Chair Brian Schuth reported that at the WCEMSA March 25 meeting the board gave its new interim director the authority "to negotiate with Baileyville" and that Baileyville is "considering all its options."

The board's action was in recognition of the decision by Calais to go ahead with the creation of its own ambulance service and the city's withdrawal as a member community as of July 1 of this year. The board also discussed the annual stipend arrangement at the meeting. "About two-thirds of the community" representatives were at the meeting, Schuth says, and they "were in support" of the stipends remaining the same as they have been. "The argument was made that it might be safer to stay with a proven ambulance service," Schuth says, than change to one that is not.

Asked about the health of WCEMSA over the next year, Schuth says, "I'm definitely feeling more comfortable about the feasibility." Planning for the next month will be critical. "We need to put together a budget on projections. We are looking at restructuring the organization" for efficiencies, he says. "We'll be fine for the coming fiscal year, but the following year is in question. The problem is Calais may have the same problem."

Interim director

"Calais is moving very quickly," Schuth noted at the previous week's March 18 authority meeting. "We need a director as of yesterday." Earl Small was hired at the meeting to become an interim part-time director. Former Director Dan Carlow had been terminated with two weeks of severance pay. Schuth said of the termination, "It does not impugn his performance in any way," and remarked that the dual position Carlow was maintaining was untenable. Carlow is the Calais fire chief, responsible for researching the Calais ambulance plans, and was also the WCEMSA director.

Interim Director Small is the shift captain of the Cutler Navy Base Fire Department. He has 22 years of experience in fire and emergency services. He has served as president of the Birch Point Fisheries Corporation, assistant fire chief at Pleasant Point for 18 years, and as an Eastport city councillor for five years, two of which were as council president. "I'm just getting them through the hurdle," Small says of the interim position. "My goal is to get them moved out and settled in 30 days," he explains of finding a new location for the authority's office and Calais-based equipment and staff.

Plans for Calais service

The City of Calais is planning to create its own ambulance service by July 1 of this year. City Manager Diane Barnes says that the name of the service will be Calais Fire-EMS and that it will start operations with six employees, 10 to 15 per diem employees and three ambulances. She reports that no WCEMSA communities have yet signed up to receive service from Calais Fire-EMS but that Robbinston and Vanceboro have stated their intent to be included in the new ambulance's licensing "so that if they decided to join, they don't have to go through the waiting period." Barnes explains that a community that wishes to become licensed to receive new ambulance service must go through a licensing process that can take as long as 220 days C a 30-day public comment period, up to 70 days for Maine EMS licensing, and up to 120 days to receive a Medicare billing number.

Certificate of need (CON) is not part of the licensing process required in Maine for an ambulance service, says Rick Petrie, director of Northeastern Maine EMS. According to the National Conference of State Legislature's website, CONs were developed in the 1960s as a means of "restraining health care facility costs and allowing coordinated planning of new services and construction. Laws authorizing such programs are one mechanism by which state governments seek to reduce overall health and medical costs." Air ambulance is one of many areas of medical service in Maine that is required to go through a CON process for licensing. Petrie says that while a policy change might be worth looking at, it would be difficult to implement because CONs are costly, because of the "complexity of the EMS process." He believes that the state resources do not exist to implement such a licensing system.

Of WCEMSA Petrie says, "Their regional concept was a good one; we need to consider doing more like that." Of the Calais decision to create its own service, he says, "It would be interesting if this was only happening in Washington County. This is going on all over; everyone is trying to find their niche, but the area has to look at needs and what is in the best interest."

Petrie says that he is impressed with WCEMSA Chair Brian Schuth's and Calais City Manager Diane Barnes' "commitment that coverage is imperative and transition is seamless." Whatever direction either ambulance service takes in the future, he says, "Our commitment is to work with them to make sure coverage continues."