Select board hears details on new ALS intercept service, first-year funding and in-house paramedic plans

Summary

Town officials discussed an intercept advanced life-support service replacing a current provider, first-year state funding that will make the service free to participating towns, vehicle and staffing plans, and the town—s parallel plan to add two paramedic firefighters to maintain in-house coverage if needed.

The Kingston Select Board discussed a new advanced life-support (ALS) intercept service and plans to keep local paramedic capability at its meeting. The current provider referenced in the meeting will end service at 4 p.m. on March 21, and towns in the area are being offered a one-year contract for an ALS intercept service that will be paid for in the first year by state funds.

The Fire Chief (name not specified), Fire Chief, Kingston Fire Department, described the proposed operating model: one vehicle staffed by two paramedics based in Brentwood and a second vehicle with one paramedic based in Plaistow; the Plaistow unit would also be available to Kingston as part of an intercept service that any participating town could call. "We do transport patients to both facilities in Port, in Seabrook and in Plaistow," the chief said, describing how crews currently move patients among local hospitals and standalone emergency rooms.

Why it matters: board members said the service is critical to maintaining paramedic-level…

Select board hears details on new ALS intercept service, first-year funding and in-house paramedic plans

Summary

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