PRESQUE ISLE – Crown Ambulance, a department of The Aroostook Medical Center, was recently named EMS Service of the Year by Mid-Coast EMS.
“This is the third time Crown has received this statewide award in the last 20 years,” said Jim McKenney, TAMC’s vice president of Ancillary Patient Services. “It is a tribute to Crown’s employees and the effort they have put forth to make the service one of the best in the entire state.”
Mid-Coast EMS, which serves Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties, presents the award each year to an EMS (emergency medical service) provider that contributes to the development and growth of quality ambulance services. Mid-Coast recognizes services that participate in community activities, maintain rapid response times and emphasize employee training, continuing education and professional development.
“We know that Crown’s involvement in the community played a big part in this,” added McKenney. “Crown takes pride in being actively involved in the cities and towns we serve. The staff has held blood pressure clinics, participated in health fairs and worked with local schools in the past year, and we continue to look for ways to improve the health in our communities.”
Crown has enabled several area cities and towns to become platinum-level Heartsafe Communities, a designation given by the Maine Cardiovascular Health Program to communities who are best prepared to deal with cardiac emergencies.
Perry Jackson, interim co-manager of Crown, noted that credit for the award goes to the staff.
“I think the staff is very happy about this,” said Jackson. “Crown was chosen for this award by a group of peers, and that validates the great work that our staff does each and every day. This is like an Academy Award for the EMS world.”
Crown serves 16 communities in Aroostook County. It is one of the few EMS providers in the state to be licensed at the paramedic level, which means an emergency medical technician with the highest level of training will respond to every medical emergency.
Daryl Boucher, an EMS and nursing instructor at Northern Maine Community College, nominated Crown for the award on behalf of the college’s EMS faculty. In his nomination letter, Boucher noted the high level of training and education Crown’s staff has received.
“Many of the Crown paramedics have taken courses through the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and they are using the skills learned in that program on a daily basis,” said Boucher. “They have developed protocols and standards, are religious about maintaining their skills and are motivated to continue to improve the care that they provide. Crown staff members are frequently seen helping in the local emergency department, all the while improving their clinical skills.”
Boucher also noted Crown’s role in helping to train new EMS professionals.
“For me, as an EMS educator, I have been most grateful to the Crown staff and management for their assistance in educating our new EMTs. Crown has accommodated a clinical student every single day during the academic year. Because of their commitment, our graduates have been able to perform exceptionally well on licensure exams, and more importantly enter the workforce ready and confident.”
One of Crown’s goals for the next year includes building closer relationships with other EMS providers. According to Jackson, this change will improve the level of emergency care available to residents in all of our communities. “We’re working more closely with our aircraft provider, Fresh Air LLC, and Capital Ambulance in Bangor as well as LifeFlight of Maine to improve the ability to move critical patients to larger hospitals. We’re strengthening those ties and developing a new level of interoperability to serve the people living in our region even better.”
EMHS members share best practices and ongoing quality initiatives to improve access to quality care at the local level.
Photo courtesy of TAMC
Crown Ambulance was recently named EMS Service of the Year by Mid-Coast EMS. Crown picked up the award recently at the 28th Annual Mid-Coast EMS Seminar. Pictured, from left: Bill Zito, Region VI EMS coordinator; Ned LaBelle, CCEMT-P, Crown Ambulance; Perry Jackson, CCEMT-P, interim manager of Crown Ambulance; Denys Cornelio, CCEMT-P, interim manager of Crown Ambulance; Kyle White, EMT, paramedic student; Steve Leach, EMT-P, Mid-Coast EMS Council; and an unidentified member of the Mid-Coast EMS Council.
