Workshops
We are working on a series of online workshops for 2021. The topics will be primarily for service administrators, supervisors, and those interested in operational topics.
Please check back later for more details.
Links of Interest
American Ambulance Association
The AAA was formed in 1979 in response to the need for improvements in medical transportation and emergency medical services. The American Ambulance Association represents hundreds of ambulance services across the United States that participate in emergency and nonemergency care and medical transportation. The Association serves as a voice and clearinghouse for ambulance services, and views prehospital care not only as a public service, but also as an essential part of the total public health care system.
COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Toolkit for Essential Workers
In Maine, essential workers such as EMS already have access to vaccines to help protect them against COVID-19. CDC has provided a toolkit to help employers educate their essential workers about this important new prevention tool.
Maine EMS – Maine.gov
Maine Emergency Medical Services is a Bureau of the Maine Department of Public Safety. It is responsible for the coordination and integration of all state activities concerning emergency medical services and the overall planning, evaluation, coordination, facilitation and regulation of EMS systems.
White Paper: Engaging Communities to Preserve Access to Emergency Medical Services in Rural Maine (October 2020)
As rural hospitals close and other medical services centralize around urban hubs, rural emergency medical services (EMS) have become increasingly relied upon by the communities that they serve. The EMS personnel staffing them have always served as informal medical advice and care resources for their neighbors. In Maine, the percentage of patients who call 9-1-1 for an ambulance, receive treatment in place, and then aren’t transported to a hospital has always been higher the more remote the setting. In over a dozen Maine communities, this non-emergency health role has been formalized as “community paramedicine” by EMS agencies to address otherwise unmet health needs. This growing non-emergency use is happening while preventable emergencies are increasing in number, presumably because primary care is less accessible. At the same time, the need to transport patients to or between more distant remaining hospitals adds to EMS demand. This growing burden threatens to crush services that grew from volunteer roots and are already encountering workforce and financial barriers.
This paper on Informed Community Self Determination (ICSD) goes to the heart of assuring EMS response in emergencies: that EMS capabilities in a given community are understood by the community, that they are the type and level desired, and that they are adequately paid for by those who depend upon them.
Rural Ambulance Service Budget Model
The Rural Ambulance Service Budget Model provides a management tool that enables a service to enter known financial information into a simple, preprogrammed spreadsheet. Once information is entered into the model, a budget is automatically calculated that can be exported into off the shelf accounting software and monthly budget versus actual results can be used to better manage limited funds and plan for improved financial management of the service.
MaineCare Exclusion List
https://mainecare.maine.gov/Meex/meex.aspx
Medicare Preclusion List
Savvik Buying Group
One of the benefits of MAA membership is that it automatically includes membership in the Savvik Buying Group, With over 8,000 members and 20 years of experience in cooperative buying, Savvik has been able to negotiate significant discounts on EMS supplies and equipment, office products, and much more. Savvik’s competitive bidding process complies with the procedures required by the state of Minnesota, which in turn establishes a Master Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement that is accepted by other state, county, and local government purchasing agents. For more details, visit their website.