As their ambulance service ends, 3 Aroostook County towns may form their own
As Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital, in Presque Isle, ends its ambulance service for nearly a dozen Aroostook County communities, three of them may band together to form their own replacement.
Blaine, Bridgewater and Mars Hill would form the Central Aroostook Ambulance Service, a quasi-municipal corporation, under legislation introduced by state Sen. Mike Carpenter, D-Houlton. The towns are currently served by Northern Light Medical Transport, based at A.R. Gould. But they’re scheduled to lose that coverage April 20.
In late August, A.R. Gould said it would discontinue ambulance service for the Presque Isle region on Dec. 31, 2019, because there were not enough 911 calls to keep the service running. Blaine, Bridgewater and Mars Hill negotiated an extension that maintains it until April.
The proposed authority, to be funded by the three member towns, would be able to contract for shared ambulance coverage.
On Monday, the Legislature’s Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety heard a dozen public comments on the bill. Most were supportive.
“It is important that the legislature enable this authority to establish and provide EMS services within their jurisdiction. As with many rural areas across the nation, the population is comparatively small, and the volume of EMS calls is relatively low,” said Sam Hurley, director of Maine Emergency Medical Services.
“Often, patients in these areas are the farthest from hospitals and often are the most likely to benefit from advanced life support services; however, these same areas are most likely to not have those level of services available.”
Lisa Harvey-McPherson, testifying on behalf of Northern Light Health, called the bill “necessary” and a “creative approach.”
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