When you call 9-1-1 in a medical emergency, you will be glad to know that in critical situations, advanced life support (ALS) paramedics are also dispatched to augment the capabilities of the town-based emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
Emerson Hospital partners with the Central Middlesex Emergency Response Association (CMERA) to enhance the care and response times throughout the communities CMERA serves: Acton, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Littleton, Maynard, Stow and Weston.
Two ALS intercept vehicles, each staffed with two paramedics from Professional EMS, cover our service area. A centralized ALS dispatch center at ProEMS uses GPS tracking to ensure the closest vehicle is dispatched to the scene of an emergency.
Emerson Hospital’s role in ALS
Emerson Hospital’s skilled Emergency Department physicians have provided medical control and quality oversight since our Paramedics program began in 1982.
Secure, computerized patient documentation in the field ensures that critical patient information is immediately available to the emergency physicians and staff at the hospital, enhancing communication and quality care.
The roles of paramedics and EMTs
Paramedics, EMTs and emergency physicians work as a team from the moment a 9-1-1 call is made until the patient is treated at the Polo Emergency Center.
EMTs are trained in basic life support and qualified to perform non-invasive procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), administration of oxygen, splinting of fractured limbs, and extrication of victims of motor vehicle accidents.
Paramedics are trained in advanced life support and qualified, under the direction of a physician, to perform certain invasive procedures usually done in a hospital emergency department such as inserting a breathing tube and administering IV medications.
What to do in an emergency
When a medical problem requires immediate attention, please call 9-1-1.
