Exeter Hospital's Paramedic Team Honored

The following is a news release:

Exeter Hospital is pleased to recognize the members of its Paramedic Intercept Team, which is marking 20 years of providing paramedic level services to area communities this year.

The local paramedic program has grown from a part time service for a limited number of towns to a fully staffed and integrated entity that has helped bring paramedic level care to the region.

“When the program began there were not any areas on the Seacoast that had total paramedic level coverage,” said Linda Lindeman, a paramedic who has worked with Exeter Hospital’s Paramedic Intercept program since its inception.

When the paramedic team began in 1992 there were eight paramedics who were available from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. Each shift included one paramedic and a volunteer driver from one of the area communities served by the paramedic team. Today the Exeter Hospital Paramedic Intercept Team employs 20 paramedics and provides 24 hour coverage to 16 area communities and others when help is needed, which enables patients to receive advanced life support care in critical situations. In 2011, the paramedic team from the hospital responded to 2,655 requests for service.

“One of the major benefits of being a hospital based service is that our paramedics work in the emergency room on a regular basis which gives them an edge when it comes to the treating patients in the field,” said Paramedic Laura Thibeault, the EMS Manager at Exeter Hospital. “When these same paramedics are dispatched on a call they are able to bring the technology of the emergency department directly to the patient.”

Today, the paramedics work in the Emergency Department at Exeter Hospital as part of the patient care team. Paramedics are also part of Exeter Hospital’s rapid response team which is activated during certain emergency situations. Paramedics on this team work alongside physicians, intensive care nurses, respiratory therapists and security personnel when a situation arises that needs the team. Exeter’s paramedics are some of only a few in the state with the ability to use a procedure called rapid sequence induction in the ambulance to help open a patient’s airway. The procedure involves a paramedic administering drugs that help sedate a patient so that a breathing tube can be put in place sooner than previously possible. They are also able to use a piece of equipment that automatically performs chest compressions during CPR.

Exeter Hospital is recognizing the dedication and work of the men and women who work on the Paramedic Intercept Team during National Emergency Medical Services week May 20 to May 26, 2012.

“It is truly a pleasure to work with the EMS services that serve our communities,” said Thibeault. “During National EMS Week, I would like to personally thank our EMS providers who make a difference every day, in the lives of so many.”