Consultant Suggests Darien Bring Paramedic Services In-Town

DARIEN, CT- A consulting group has suggested that Darien would greatly benefit from having in-town paramedic services.

Post 53, the independent organization staffed by dedicated volunteers provides Advanced Emergency Medical Technician and Basic Life Support levels of service. The higher level Advanced Life Support (Paramedic) services come from a contract with a private out of town provider.

Post 53 is capable of providing asprin for chest pain, oral glucose for patients with low blood sugar and Narcan for opioid overdoses. As an AEMT level organization they are allowed to hook a patient up to an IV, but only to administer volume replacement therapy with .9% normal saline solution.

A paramedic has a wider breadth of options available such as administering advanced medications for cardiac problems, breathing difficulty and pain management. They can intubate patients via the trachea to secure an airway.

The consulting group, McGrath Consulting noted that Darien's paramedic arrangement provides a lower level of emergency medical response than any contiguous neighboring community.

The group noted that the issue isn't about Post 53 being inadequate and that the group provides excellent basic life support needs.

The average response time for Post 53 is five minutes and 53 seconds and the average time or a paramedic to arrive is nine minutes 21 seconds.

Post 53 would be a good place to house an in-town paramedic and the group has indicated that it is willing to do whatever the town thinks is in the best interest of the community, according to the study. A contract may be necessary to house the paramedic at the location.

Post 53 doesn't charge residents for basic life support responses, but does bill for ALS response. It pays an initial $105,000 per year for paramedic response into the Town of Darien.

Read the full report here.