To the editor:
I want to share a physician/clinical point of view regarding the proposed new 9-1-1 service to be provided through the City of Presque Isle.
As vice president of the TAMC medical staff and as a physician who has practiced in this region for more than 20 years, with more than half of that time serving as the medical director of the intensive care unit and pulmonologist at TAMC, I believe I bring a qualified perspective on this issue.
In my opinion, the approach taken by the City is not in the best interest of our patients or population health in general. I say this not only based on my experience providing healthcare locally, but also from a perspective gained working outside of The County. During my training, I worked in hospitals that had competing ambulance/paramedic services in a community. This frequently led to delays in appropriate application of first responder care and quite frequently we would see patients diverted from the nearest appropriate facility to one that was preferred by the first responders (for a myriad of reasons). I would fear the development of a similar scenario here.
Specifically, I am very concerned about the erosion of clinical skills amongst our first responders. We depend heavily on this team to provide the highest quality care to our patients in the initial phase of their acute illness. Failure to do so puts us as clinicians at a disadvantage as “time is life” when dealing with an emergency situation.
Also, this is not an issue that is just going to affect Presque Isle citizens. It is going to affect our entire service area. Putting the patients in a position where they conceivably have to decide which emergency responders to contact could most certainly delay application of appropriate care, further impacting survival.
Setting aside all political and financial considerations, this decision as contemplated/ presented by the city is not in the best interest of our patients.
Dr. David A. Weed, F.C.C. P., F.A.A.S.M.
