Rural communities in Maine are facing a situation in which EMS calls often receive delayed – if any – response.
In a recent incident in Macwahoc, an emergency call passed to multiple municipalities before a nonprofit EMS company in Hudson could respond, WABI reports. The ambulance arrived more than an hour after finishing another call, but by the time help reached the scene, the patient had passed away.
State laws further complicate the issue. Municipalities are not required by law to provide EMS services, and departments tied up with other calls can refuse additional ones unless contracts are in place to fund service.
At the same time, the cost of an ambulance trip has risen significantly due to increasing regulations and operational expenses.
“The legislature and the federal government have made the cost of operating ambulances skyrocket because they keep adding more rules,” Lincoln Town Manager Rick Bronson told WABI.
