Sangerville to sign EMS contract with Mayo Hospital

SANGERVILLE — Sangerville Fire Chief Matt Blockler has been authorized by the select board to sign a contract with Northern Light Mayo Hospital which will help allow the department to offer certain types of medical care before the arrival of an ambulance.

The item has been a topic of discussion several times, Blockler said during a Feb. 18 select meeting at the fire station. 

“Getting the station licensed to provide patient care until the ambulance arrives then they can transport” he said. “In order for us to do that, in order for Maine EMS to give us a license, they want what they consider a continuity of care. So we show up, we take your responsibility for that patient but we can’t transport them to the hospital.”

A contract with such an arrangement needs to be in place, the hospital has similar agreements in place with other area fire departments. Sangerville would be licensed by Maine EMS to the emergency responder level.

“It just states we’re toned at the same time as Mayo is for these certain medical calls we go provide care, transfer care to Mayo EMS, they transport the patient to the hospital and then whatever equipment we use to treat that patient, Mayo bills their insurance and we restock from it,” Blockler said.

“This requires a contract for us to be licensed with Maine EMS,” he said. “Without this contract Maine EMS, they’re not satisfied that every patient will have that guarantee that they’re going to get from here to here to here. This way there’s that continuity of care so they’re guaranteed to have patient transport to the hospital.”

Select Chair Jeff Peters asked if this is something the town needs right now for the level of service provided to the public.

“I feel as though we need to offer this to the public because of the situations that we’re in,” Blockler said. “If people are waiting 45 minutes for an ambulance if they have a critical condition, we can go and provide CPR without this medical license because we do it as far as training.” 

Services such as CPR, lift assists, NARCAN and severe bleeding control can be provided without the licensure, whereas epinephrine for allergic reaction and oxygen administration for difficulty breathing need the license in place.

“Otherwise we could just go and stand with them and be an ear for them to talk to while they are waiting for an ambulance,” Blockler said.

“There’s no financials as part of that contract that I can find anywhere in there,” the fire chief said.

About $2,000 is in next year’s budget for some equipment Sangerville does not currently have and this would be part of the warrant for next month’s annual town meeting. 

“It’s a service,” Blockler said. “It may not be beneficial to everybody but if you’re in that position and you’re waiting 40 minutes for an ambulance, somebody can give you nitro or an epipen or oxygen to stabilize you until an ambulance gets there it will be $2,000 well spent in my eyes.”

“It sounds like nothing but a benefit for very little money,” Peters said.

In other business, 2026 mowing bids were awarded to Orman Gray.

Gray had the low bid of three for a combined $18,000 for maintaining six areas, including Veterans Memorial Park, the lot at corner of High and Main streets, the town garage area, cable box area, Route 23 sign area and town hall lawn, as well as the seven cemeteries. Gray had the contract last year.

The bids had a close range from Gray’s $18,000 to nearly $21,900.

Interim Town Manager Michelle Nichols said the budget committee met recently and was set to meet on Feb. 19.

“We have gone through the budget all in one night,” she said. “We have some things that we do need to update tomorrow when we get back into the office.”