A group of emergency medicine physicians in Maine have assembled New England's first physician-only EMS response team, WABI 5 reported Oct. 7.
The team, dubbed MD3 in reference to Kennebec County's EMS Region 3, is made of up to nine EMS physicians, headquartered at Delta Ambulance in Waterville, Maine. The physicians work shifts at the ambulance service in addition to their primary jobs, ready to respond to the most "dire" emergencies, according to the report.
"Our whole goal here is to try and get on scene earlier, to try to provide interventions earlier," said Kelly Meehan-Coussee, MD, an MD3 physician.
While the physicians can board ambulances if necessary, they generally drive themselves to the scene of 911 calls in a separate, specially equipped SUVs that allow the physicians to administer more advanced care beyond traditional EMS practices.
The team is a part of a year-long pilot program funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and Kennebec County. According to the report, the team has responded to more than 170 calls this year, and studies have shown that more lives are saved when a physician is also on the scene, especially in cases of cardiac arrest.
The physicians also look to teach EMTs and paramedics, while enhancing the level of care administered by all emergency medicine practitioners.