As an emergency medical services provider, the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service does more than pick people up and take them to the hospital. The Boothbay Region Ambulance Service provides both emergency and non-emergency service to Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport residents on a daily basis.

The BRAS Board of Directors provided residents with a glimpse how it manages in an ever-changing industry.

A dozen residents attended the Oct. 5 forum held at the Boothbay Region YMCA in Boothbay Harbor.

Boothbay Region Ambulance Service is one of 156 transporting services in Maine. The directors hosted a 90-minute forum educating community members about the recent changes made by the board and the changing roles and responsibilities of rural Maine services.

One change is a move toward a more of full-time staff. Volunteers across the state have become a scarce commodity for both fire and ambulance services, according to Rick Petrie, executive director of Atlantic Partners EMS in Lewiston.

Petrie spoke during the forum regarding the state’s EMS operation and how the BRAS fits within it. Petrie said volunteer emergency providers struggle nationwide to fill positions.

“Volunteer fire and ambulance services are fighting the same battle. They’re both losing personnel because the time demands on volunteers are too great,” he said. “Ten years ago,  Maine had 12,000 volunteer firefighters. Today, it’s 6,000. Those numbers are similar for ambulance services as well.”

Petrie attributed the diminished number of volunteers to increased training requirements. In Yarmouth, four volunteers dropped an Emergency Medical Technician training classes when they learned about the class schedule.

“When they heard the training schedule would be two nights a week along with four required weekends, immediately four of them left,” Petrie said. “People are too busy with their own jobs and lives to devote enough time for this demanding schedule.”

Petrie also discussed other changes in the industry. Federal regulations are requiring more EMS performance evaluations. Hospitals already are required to undergo evaluations to receive federal reimbursements. Performance evaluations grade a provider’s response time, customer satisfaction, and success rates.

“If a provider fails to meet standards they are fined. The feds are using for this measure for hospitals, and it’ll be used for EMS in the near future,” Petrie said.

Operations Manager Scott Lash discussed recent innovations being used. Since 2013, the BRAS has participated in a pilot program providing non-emergency care. Boothbay Region Ambulance Service was one of 12 Maine departments in the state’s community paramedicine study.

In between calls, ambulance service staff members visit patients to check on their well-being. The program is designed to reduce health care cost through preventative medicine.

“The data is still being compiled, but it looks like its working,” Lash said. “The goal is to reduce more expensive emergency room calls by having someone routinely check on their diet, weight, medication, and home safety for preventing falls.”

Boothbay Region Ambulance Service has incorporated more technological services in recent years. The staff uses a laptop so patients can communicate directly with a physician. During transports, patient confidentiality is being protected through transmitting personal information by text, rather than radio.

“As the distance of transport have increased this technology makes sense,” Lash said. “Some information isn’t appropriate to go over the radio. And sending information directly to the physician by text protects confidentiality.”

This was the first educational forum of its kind informing the public how the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service fits into the overall Maine EMS system. Boothbay Region Ambulance Service Board Chairman Rob Ham expects similar presentations to follow on an annual basis.