Trio earn paramedic licenses

    Three Crown Ambulance emergency medical technicians (EMTs) recently became licensed at the paramedic level, the highest level of achievement for EMT providers in Maine.
    “I’d like to congratulate Ginger Ouellette of Fort Kent, Susan Rabe of Limestone and Dan Stewart of Hodgdon for becoming our newest paramedics,” said Perry Jackson, manager of Crown Ambulance. “A tremendous amount of work goes into becoming a paramedic. When patients are treated by a paramedic, they know they are receiving the highest level of pre-hospital care.”
    To become licensed, paramedics complete two years of college, a clinical rotation and a rigorous exam. Upon becoming licensed, paramedics are permitted to provide advanced care, including medication administration, insertion of tubes to maintain open airways and use of a diagnostic test to assess the electrical activity in the heart.
    Maine also recognizes two additional levels of licensure: EMT basic and EMT intermediate. Crown Ambulance, the region’s largest emergency medical services provider, based in Presque Isle, currently employs 33 paramedics, four professionals licensed at the intermediate level, seven licensed at the basic level and one first responder. The ambulance provider serves 16 Aroostook County cities and towns.